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You can now preview WhatsApp voice messages before you send them

The ability to preview WhatsApp voice messages before sending has now landed, following discovery of the plan back in May.

This solves two of the more annoying issues with sending voice messages in the chat app …

First, when you’re walking down the street – and thus most likely to use voice rather than text – traffic noise can often make a message difficult to hear. You’d only discover this when the recipient tells you, or if you review it yourself after sending.

Second, there are times when we might ramble on, before realizing we could have said the same thing in much more succinct terms.

The ability to listen to the message before sending, with the option to delete the recording and create a new one, will solve both problems.

TNW notes that the option to review is not the default behavior of the app, however.

While the default behavior is still to send a message immediately after releasing the record button, you can at least have some extra peace of mind.

When you’re ready to record, tap and hold on the mic button, then drag up to enter ‘hands-free mode (you should see a lock as you drag up).

From here you have the option to either delete the clip immediately by pressing the trash can icon, or you can tap the stop button in the center. Once stopped, you’ll see a play button to allow you to preview your message.

A related feature also spotted in development is the ability to pause and resume recording of a voice message.

In a video, WABetainfo shows a new audio interface for WhatsApp, in which you can press play/pause, start/stop recording a conversation.

Some may have difficulty finding out whether the update has rolled out to them, as a bug is making the app crash for many iPhone users.

Photo: Dimitri Karastelev/Unsplash

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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