A picture says a thousand words, a simple emoji can break down language barriers and a well-placed .gif can have a group chat L-ing their FAO. Stickers… well, we’re still not sure what the point of stickers is, but they’re coming to WhatsApp in the near future.
In a blog post, the Facebook-owned messaging service says its own sticker packs are rolling out on Android and iPhone shortly, while there’ll also be support for third-party options from the App Store and Google Play Store.
Users will be able to tap a new sticker button within the app to select from existing packs, while hitting a plus button to install new packs. The chat app says developers and designers will be able to create their own sticker packs for WhatsApp by submitting them to the respective app stores.
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The blog post says: “From emoji and camera features to Status and animated GIFs, we’re always looking to add new features that make communicating with friends and family on WhatsApp easy and fun. Today, we’re excited to introduce a new way for people to express themselves with stickers.
“Whether with a smiling teacup or a crying broken heart, stickers help you share your feelings in a way that you can’t always express with words. To start, we’re launching sticker packs created by our designers at WhatsApp and a selection of stickers from other artists.”
A report from Android Police earlier on Thursday pointed out the feature is already live in beta versions of WhatsApp, so it shouldn’t be long before the sticky goodness arrives within the main app.
The stickers feature was initially announced in May at the Facebook F8 conference, so sticker fans have waited a long time for this feature to come to fruition.
Will the arrival of stickers on WhatsApp change your life? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
