After apparently shelving the so-called ‘Vacation Mode‘ last month, WhatsApp has reportedly brought back the feature in its latest beta build. That’s according to WABetaInfo, which claims that code for the upcoming feature has now popped-up in WhatsApp v2.20.199.8 beta for Android. The feature, in case you don’t know it already, prevents notifications about new messages in archived chat threads.
Do note that the functionality isn’t yet available for general users and there’s no word yet on when it will go live. However, according to the report, the feature is currently under active development and should be available in a future update. Once the feature is live, the ‘Archived Chats’ section will move to the top of the chats list. Tapping on it will reveal a ‘Notification’ section that will enable users to choose the behavior of archived chats when new messages arrive.
Alongside Vacation Mode, WhatsApp is apparently also working on another feature called ‘Media Guidelines‘. According to WABetaInfo, the feature will enable users to perfectly align stickers, text and emojis while adding them to videos, images and GIFs. This feature is also currently in development with no word on when it might be available to general users.
Either way, there’s no more information on these upcoming features, but let’s hope that WhatsApp rolls them out sooner rather than later. That said, these are still in the development stage with no word on when they will be available for the general public, so I won’t be holding my breath for a public release any time soon.