WhatsApp adds backgrounds and filters to video calls

Although it is true that Meta has already had a long season in which WhatsApp is constantly adding new features and improving existing onesthere are two feelings I can’t shake when I meet them. The first is a surprise, which I find positive, that after many years of almost no movements in this sense in the queen of the instant messaging application, today its pace of development is truly remarkable. The second is that it still has a lot of catching up to do to fully catch up and even overtake its main competitors. This is evident when we see, as it happens, the debut of a feature that is already common in other similar services. The phrase is now commonly used to say that it is never too late if the luck is good, and it seems to be.

The news is that Meta just announced it WhatsApp is adding a new feature that lets users customize video calls with filters and backgroundsimproving the visual experience and interaction during conversations. This new feature includes ten filters and ten different backgrounds. Among the available backgrounds are options like “Living Room” and “Cafe”, while “Warm” and “Cool” filters adjust the tone of the image. In addition, the new “Touch up” and “Low Light” functions help to improve the appearance and adjust the lighting in adverse conditions.

This is the full list of pools and filters:

funds

• Blur
• Living room
• Office
• Cafe
• Shingle
• food lover
• Smoothness
• Beach
• Sunset
• Celebration
• Forest

Filters

• Warm
• Cold
• black and white
• light leakage
• Dream
• prismatic light
• fish eye
• retro television
• frosted glass
• Duo tone

Although until 2020 video calling (more commonly called video conferencing) was mainly limited to professional settings, the pandemic and the resulting restrictions has prompted a huge number of private users to start using this type of servicebecause in many cases they were the most direct and complete means of communication with their loved ones. How many stories have we heard back then about grandparents being able to see their grandchildren thanks to WhatsApp, Zoom, Meet and similar services?

In some aspects, such as multi-member calls, WhatsApp has been able to develop rapidly, but in other aspects, such as personalization, it has not yet reached the level offered by specific platforms for this type of communication. This is understandable, of course, but if you want to attract more users (many of whom still use professional video calling services despite being WhatsApp users as well), you need to replicate their most used features. And in this sense, this news is undoubtedly a success.