WhatsApp gets more stickers – from gifs to customized
Giphy stickers, custom sticker maker and a new sticker section: WhatsApp wants to let more than words speak for themselves.
(Image: WhatsApp)
WhatsApp is getting more ways to express yourself with stickers. Because, according to the messenger, "a sticker says more than typed words". That's why there are now Giphy stickers, a custom sticker maker and a new sticker section.
Giphy is a database of animated GIF files that Meta originally acquired in 2020, but had to sell shortly afterward due to concerns from the US competition authorities. The new owner is the image database Shutterstock. The animated images were already available before and are still available on the Meta platforms. On WhatsApp, people can now tap on the sticker icon and search for matching gifs using text or emoji. Previously, there was only a selection of currently popular or otherwise selected moving images. Alternatively, you had to leave the app to search for a gif elsewhere and insert it.
WhatsApp: Make and rearrange stickers yourself
The Custom Sticker Maker is now available for Android. The function already works on iOS devices. It can be used to convert photos into stickers. You can cut out objects from images with a click and send them as stickers. It is also possible to change existing stickers, for example by adding text or drawing something on them. Stickers you create yourself are automatically added to the sticker library.
Creating stickers using generative AI is still only possible in the USA. However, this will no longer only be possible in English, but also in Spanish and Bahasa Indonesian. It is not yet clear when Meta's AI services will come to the EU. The company is citing legal uncertainties. What this means in concrete terms, however, remains unclear. There is also a theory that Meta wants to exert pressure on legislators.
The area in which people place the stickers can now be organized according to their own needs. Of course, this should also help with clarity. Individual stickers can be selected and moved or deleted with a long tap.
And according to WhatsApp, this makes it even easier to find new stickers. These can then be viewed in a preview without having to download the packages.
(emw)