WhatsApp has rolled out a new Beta update for Android users, which takes the version number to 2.18.194. And this update comes with a massive feature. One of the most annoying features in WhatsApp is media auto-download; Either a user has to download every contact's media or just turn off the auto download option across the application. To solve this issue, WhatsApp has rolled out Media Visibility feature a while back, but the company removed it in the last update due to some unknown reasons. But with the latest 2.18.194 update, the feature is back again, but this time around with a new ability allowing users to customise media visibility for per chat or groups.
The feature was first rolled out with Android Beta 2.18.159 a month ago. Back then, the feature allowed users to hide media from the gallery for the entire WhatsApp, but with the Android Beta 2.18.194, WhatsApp is allowing users to customise the media visibility option for every chat and group. To simplify the things, users on latest WhatsApp Beta will now see an option of 'Media Visibility' under 'Contact Info' if it's a personal chat and under 'Group Info' if it's a group.
Having said that, there's no change to the functionality of the feature though. It still functions the same: When selected, it asks users whether they don't want to show the newly downloaded media in the gallery app or not. This is an extremely handy feature and will be useful for many people out there. As of now, the feature has been rolled to WhatsApp Beta users on Android only at the moment. After testing it for a few weeks, WhatsApp will add the feature to the stable version of Android, which will be released to its over one billion users across the globe.
The Media Visibility option was first spotted by WABetaInfo, and the Beta update is already live on the Google Play Store. We have installed the update and tested out this feature to check whether it's working properly or not. This feature is working without any issues at the moment, and the group media visibility option is a huge bonus for many users out there.
