New features like custom notification sounds and privacy controls are shown

Mar 17, 2014 06:00 GMT  ·  By

It looks like the next update for WhatsApp Messenger application for Windows Phone devices will be a major one. There have been lots of new features added to the beta version in the last couple of weeks, but none of these made it to the final iteration of the application yet.

If developers plans on delivering all these new features that are now being tested in another version at the same time, the next update will probably turn WhatsApp into one of the most advanced instant messaging application.

We have already reported on most of these new features that have been pushed to WhatsApp Beta for Windows Phone, and posted lots of screenshots showing where they can be found in the application’s menu.

However, WMPoweruser reports Brazilian blog site WPmania.br has just published a short video that contains most of these new features for an easier understanding of how they work.

First of all, the video shows how chat backgrounds work and how you can use different backgrounds for multiple contacts.

You only need to choose a contact and go to background gallery where you will find lots of wallpapers that can be used as background chats. Rinse and repeat for other contacts that you wish to change chat background.

Privacy controls is another new feature that has just been released on Android platform so users can enjoy them. These privacy controls allows users to choose who can see when they were last online and who can see their profile picture and status. You can also block certain contacts or phone numbers from you contact list.

Next in line is the custom notification sounds new feature that will provide WhatsApp users with more customization options when it comes to this aspect.

For the time being, we’ve noticed developers added several Nokia tunes that can be used as notification sounds, but we suspect there’s a special library that users can browse to choose the tune they wish to use as notification sound.

Developers may also include the option to allow WhatsApp users to choose the custom notification sounds from the media files stored on their phones, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Last but not least, so settings backup-related new features are shown on the video as well as broadcast lists. No word on when the next major update for WhatsApp Messenger for Windows Phone will arrive, but we hope it will be made available sooner rather than later.