Let’s tell you What are each of the new icons for? that have been arriving on WhatsApp in recent months. They have been created to tell us how new technologies work or to help us carry out new types of actions, but perhaps there is one that you have seen and you are not sure what it is for.

To explain them to you, we are going to show you a screenshot of each of the new WhatsApp icons. And under each one, we will explain how it works and what it is for.

Lock icon under contact name

Below a contact or group name you will have a lock icon. This icon appears when a chat is end-to-end encrypted. This means that chat information travels from one device to another encrypted, so that if someone intercepts it along the way, what you have written cannot be read.

This is a basic privacy measure today, and it tells you that this chat is secure. There are times when the icon appears and disappears from time to time to be replaced by the indicator of the last time someone was online or to tell you the members of the group. This does not mean that the chat will stop being private, it simply will not be indicated to you all the time.

Double arrow icon

The WhatsApp double arrow icon will appear to the right of an image, a video, a document or a location, and is used to forward message quicklyand without having to navigate through other menus. Come on, with a single button you can forward this content to other people by choosing who.

This icon does not appear in all messages of the chats, but only in the content that is shared in them. For example, it will not appear with normal messages if you write something textual that is yours, nor next to emojis or emoticons.

Sound waves icon

Don’t be scared if a sound wave icon appears to the right of a chat, it doesn’t mean they are spying on you. It appears in chat groups, and is used to start a voice chat between participants. When you click on the icon, the chat starts without sending a notification, and each person can join whenever they want.

All you have to do is tap the button, confirm that you want to start a voice chat, and wait to see if anyone else joins. A discreet, silent notification will appear to others letting them know that this feature has been implemented, so that anyone who wants to can join. When voice chat is not used for an hour, it will automatically close.

Three dots icon in chat

This is an indicator that tells you that the other person is writing a text. It appears below the column where you are shown the text of the other person you are talking to, and replaces the classic Writing…leaving only the ellipsis to be smaller and minimalist.

This is an informative icon that you won’t be able to touch and with which you cannot interact. It is simply an indicator that tells you that another person is writing so that you can wait for them to finish and do not think that they are ignoring you if they take a long time to respond.

Microphone icon in chat

When a microphone icon appears where there should be text from the person you’re talking to, it means that the other person is sending a voice note. This way, if it takes a while to respond and the icon appears you will be able to know the reason.

This is an informative icon that you won’t be able to touch and with which you cannot interact. Simply try to anticipate that you are going to receive an audio, something very similar to the indicator of when someone is writing to you.

In techopiniones Basics | How to create stickers directly in WhatsApp on Android or iPhone from any photo