WhatsApp may soon get an Instagram-like feature called Zaps for sharing disappearing photos and videos. Discovered in the Android 2.26.46.2 update, Zaps lets users send ephemeral media that vanishes after one view. The feature supports emoji reactions and group sharing, keeping everything secure with end-to-end encryption for all its users.
WhatsApp could soon get an Instagram Instants-like feature called Zaps for sharing disappearing photos and videos. The feature may bring one-time viewing, emoji reactions and group sharing, but it is still under development.
WhatsApp users may soon get an Instants-like feature called Zaps that will allow them to send ephemeral photos and videos to one another. For those who are not familiar with Instants, Instagram introduced this feature on May 13 this year. It is designed for sharing casual, unpolished, and spontaneous photos to close friends and mutual followers.
Now, about the WhatsApp version of Instants or more precisely Zaps, was discovered by WABetaInfo in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.46.2 update, which is available on the Google Play Store. So, like Instants, using Zaps in WhatsApp, users can capture photos and short videos directly through WhatsApp's new instant camera and share with others. As of now, we don't know what the duration of these short videos will be, but what we know is that Instants allow users to share around 6-second videos. Notably, one of the biggest distinctions between regular WhatsApp photos and videos and Zaps is that Zaps disappear after the recipient views them once.
How Zaps may work
Introducing Zaps in WhatsApp could also mean the app gets a new camera feature so that users can open the Instants-like camera in WhatsApp by tapping a lightning bolt icon in the Chats tab.
End-to-end encryption remains one of the main USP of WhatsApp, so similar to other features, Zaps also said to ship with E2E. In other words, only the sender and recipient can view the content in the Zaps.
Moreover, Zaps are not going to be limited to mutual contacts; WhatsApp is reportedly will allow users to send them to contacts, groups and even potentially channels. Unlike Instagram, which has a separate section for Instants in its chat section, Zaps may appear directly inside chats rather than in a separate media section.
There isn't a fear of spamming either; if someone shares several Zaps together, WhatsApp may group them into a single message showing the number of Zaps. Recipients can react using emojis or reply with a text message. Interestingly, while recipients lose access after viewing, the sender can reportedly continue seeing their Zaps in the chat.
It's worth noting that the name Zaps refers to the photos and videos themselves, while Instants appears to be the name of the camera feature or experience. More importantly, the feature is still under development. It has not reached beta testers, and WhatsApp has not announced a public release date. So you can take it with a pinch of salt.