WhatsApp gains special features for the World Cup; check it out
The biggest football tournament in the world starts next week, and WhatsApp has announced a series of new features dedicated to the 2026 World Cup.
In a release sent to CNN Brasil, the company also revealed that the application recorded 25 million messages per second during the 2022 final. Precisely to match this energy, new features were launched to users. Among the main new features are visual elements inspired by the World Cup, as well as real-time information resources and more.
WhatsApp gains football emoji, stickers and effects
One of the first changes is the update of the football emoji; The standard version of WhatsApp now displays the new official World Cup ball, called Trionda.
Messaging app users can send the new ball emoji or use it as a reaction in messages. This themed update will remain available until the World Cup final.
Those who make group video calls can also apply special filters, which simulate a fan atmosphere and promise to make the conversation more fun between fans.
In addition, WhatsApp released a new pack of football-themed stickers; Stickers can be used by fans to express reactions and emotions during matches.
WhatsApp channels with World Cup updates
One of the new features for the World Cup period involves WhatsApp Channels. According to the company, the feature will allow you to follow content related to the tournament directly through the application.
Among the information available will be countdowns for the matches, behind-the-scenes content and real-time updates on the games. The proposal is to concentrate this type of content on official channels.
One of the main new features of the update is the Trionda ball emoji (image), the official ball of the 2026 World Cup developed by Adidas. - Credits: Meta
In addition, Meta created a special football guide within the application that brings together information about the teams, the latest results and the main news, all in one place.
To complement this, WhatsApp has activated status updates for channels. With this feature, official channels can publish short-lived posts (24 hours) that appear in followers' status feeds.
So, in addition to seeing updates from friends and family, the user will follow temporary content from the channels they follow. If you don't like it, you also have the option to hide these status updates or unfollow a specific channel.
Meta AI helps users follow the 2026 World Cup
Meta highlights that its artificial intelligence assistant integrated into WhatsApp, Meta AI, can be used to consult information and answer questions about the 2026 World Cup.
With the tool, users can ask questions related to the tournament and receive information in the application. You can check rankings, search for player data, find nearby places to watch matches and more.
The company explains that the new features related to the World Cup were implemented without changing the protection of conversations and personal calls on WhatsApp. In other words, user data continues to be protected by the end-to-end encryption already offered by the app.
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Source: CNN