WhatsApp is planning a fun new feature to jazz up your messages

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Ink Drop)

Your WhatsApp conversations are going to get a little more lively as a new sticker features starts to roll out to users. Stickers have long been a part of expressing yourself in messages, and a new option is on the horizon – animated stickers!

The rollout is a phased, three-step process, and at the moment we are only in the very early stages of the first step. But if you want to get a glimpse into the feature, look no further than the beta version of WhatsApp where you can get a peek at what's to come.

In this first stage of the feature rollout, some users are being given the ability to view animated stickers. It is also possible to save and send or forward any animated stickered that you receive, but at this stage it's not possible to download or use sticker packs like those that currently exist for static stickers.

For the time being, because it is early days for animated stickers, there are very few currently in circulation, but keep your eyes open as numbers will increase. It also hopefully won't be too long before animated stickers are made available for download as the rollout expands.

Animation nation

Two other stages to the rollout will firstly make it possible to import third party animated stickers, while the third and final stage will see the arrival of animated sticker packs in the WhatsApp Store. At the moment it's not known quite when these different options ill be made available, nor when animated stickers will become more widely available.

As reported by WABetaInfo, you will need to update to the latest beta version of the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. For Android users this is 2.20.194.7 Android beta and 2.20.70.26 iOS beta.

You can sign up to become a beta tester for the Android version of the app here, and while the iOS beta program for WhatsApp is currently full, you can keep an eye on things here to see if any space open up.

Here's how to enable dark mode in WhatsApp

Via WABetaInfo

Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

You can find her on Twitter and Mastodon.