Emily Irish

WhatsApp Starts Testing Background Voice Message Playback on iOS

Did it ever confuse you that you had to keep your WhatsApp chats open to listen to voice messages in them? The new iOS app may get this fixed. The new feature named Global Voice Message Player in the recent WhatsApp beta versions is exactly this: a possibility to listen to voice messages in one chat even after switching to another.

The new feature seems to appear in a beta version of both WhatsApp and WhatsApp for Business, and the latter started testing it even earlier. Some WhatsApp Beta users have spotted it in the 22.1.72 update and even tweeted about it. The Global Player was also spotted in WhatsApp for Business Beta update under the same number.

With Global Voice Message Player, you will not be bound to the chat with the sender of the message to listen to it. It will keep playing in the background even as you switch to another chat. As you leave the original chat, the player will appear at the top of the screen, offering you the play/pause button. This will enhance communication and make it less annoying. Maybe this will make many voice message haters change their minds, as one of the most controversial traces of VM is removed.

The exact date of the next update for the release version is yet unknown. Still, it’s been reported that the feature is being tested on Android as well. This means WhatsApp plans to roll it out simultaneously for all the platforms, as well as for the web version. This is how it happens most of the time when WhatsApp implements a new feature.

So far, though, not all the users of beta versions have received this. Even within betas, there are better betas. Hope they will not make some users wait while others will enjoy the updated voice message player.

And are you an active voice message user? Did it confuse you to stay in the chat where you received the message to listen to it? Will this feature make VM more attractive to you? Share your opinion in our comments, and sorry that it can only be typed.