WhatsApp fulfils its holiday season promise with festive revamp

As people around the world gear up to celebrate Christmas and the advent of the New Year in the next few days, WhatsApp is rolling out a festive revamp by adding the Party Popper emoji as the seventh default reaction.

According to WABetaInfo, users of the Meta-owned instant-messaging app can explore the Party Popper emoji directly within the reaction tray, providing a convenient way for users to celebrate and express joy without having to search for it in the emoji picker. 

The Party Popper emoji has been chosen for its universal association with festivities, making it a perfect fit for the New Year and Christmas celebrations. 

It’s important to mention that this feature is consistent across all platforms, including iOS, Android, individual chats, group chats, and even channels, so that users can have the same enhanced experience regardless of the device or context in which they are using WhatsApp.

The decision to include the Party Popper emoji among the default reactions aligns with their recent rollout of animated confetti effects. 

By pairing this new animation with a more accessible emoji, WhatsApp aims to create a more engaging experience for users, levelling up the festive atmosphere of the holiday season. 

Adding it to the reaction tray ensures that it is available at a glance, particularly helpful during the holiday season when celebratory messages are more frequent.

However, it is worth noting that this addition to the reaction tray is likely temporary. 

The Party Popper emoji is expected to remain among the default reactions during the festive period, after which it might be removed as the celebrations wind down. 

Yet, the animated confetti effect introduced to the emoji alongside this update is likely to remain as part of WhatsApp’s reaction features despite its potential removal from the default tray.