WhatsApp has made a subtle change that has angered many users.
Meta’s app has quietly added a speech bubble animation, which appears when someone you’re messaging with is typing.
The feature replaces the ‘typing…’ message, which usually appears at the top of the screen under your contact’s name.
While this may sound like a small change, many users have flocked to X (formerly Twitter) to discuss this.
About X, a user wrote: ‘I hate the new WhatsApp typing box.’
Another added: ‘I just realized the typing bubble is now on WhatsApp.
“That update caught me off guard.”
And someone said: ‘The new WhatsApp typing animation seems deliberately designed to scare me.’
WhatsApp is without a doubt one of the most popular apps in the world. And if you’re one of the two billion people using it, you may have noticed a subtle change in recent weeks (stock image)
Meta’s app has quietly added a speech bubble animation, which appears when someone you’re messaging with is typing
One user said: ‘The new WhatsApp typing animation seems deliberately designed to give me anxiety’
The new speech bubble animation is very similar to the animation used in Apple’s iMessage, showing three dots moving up and down as you type contact.
It was first tested in October with a small group of users.
Speak with The Telegraph A WhatsApp spokesperson said at the time: “This was just a small test, but now it’s back to normal.”
However, several users, including MailOnline’s Shivali Best, have noticed the speech bubble in their chats this week.
This suggests that WhatsApp has rolled out the change more widely.
MailOnline has contacted WhatsApp’s spokesperson for confirmation.
The change has not gone down well with many users on X.
“WhatsApp removed the typing and added this…” one user wrote alongside two crying emojis.
Several users – including MailOnline’s Shivali Best – have noticed the speech bubble in their chats this week
One user said: ‘Hi WhatsApp, can we just go back to so and so is typing? This dot, dot, dot bouncing up and down is getting annoying.”
One user wrote: ‘Not a fan of the 3 bubbles indicator when someone is typing on WhatsApp. Wake up iMessage nonsense’
Another wrote: ‘Not a fan of the 3 bubbles indicator when someone is typing on WhatsApp. Woke iMessage nonsense.”
And one vented: ‘Hi WhatsApp, can we just go back to so and so typing? That dot, dot, bouncing up and down is starting to get annoying.”
Others, however, have welcomed the change.
“WhatsApp has finally removed the ‘typing’ notification from the top and brought it down to the bottom where it belongs,” one user tweeted.
Another said: ‘I like the new WhatsApp typing indicator.’
And someone joked: ‘I like the new type designation in WhatsApp. But it would be more fun to see how many characters are typed.’
The update comes just seven months after WhatsApp infuriated users by capitalizing ‘Online’ and ‘Typing’ (words that appear under the other user’s name in your chats).
A user wrote about it is capitalized “T” (Type).
Others have welcomed the change, including one user who tweeted: ‘I like the new WhatsApp typing indicator’
“WhatsApp has finally removed the ‘typing’ notification from the top and brought it down to the bottom where it belongs,” one user tweeted
“Just a capital letter different, but I hate it so much.”
Another added: “Does anyone else really, albeit irrationally, hate WhatsApp for adding a capital letter to the beginning of Online and Typing?”
And someone said: ‘Did anyone else notice that WhatsApp changed the typing and online part at the top and made it a capital letter?!
“It makes my eye twitch.”
MailOnline has contacted WhatsApp for comment.