The other day WhatsApp finally rolled out the ability for users to include the use of stickers in their messages. Now according to a report from WABetaInfo, it looks like a new sticker feature could be coming to Android, and that comes in the form of the ability to search for stickers based on keywords.
Right now the sticker feature on WhatsApp is pretty basic. Users are given a bunch of sticker packs, and within each pack there are a variety of stickers to choose from. However with the ability to search, we imagine that users will be able to search for specific sticker types, such as ones for laughing, ones that show angry expressions, hungry expressions, love, and so on.
At the moment the sticker feature for WhatsApp is admittedly rather basic. Apps such as LINE are considerably more advanced in their sticker implementation, where users can type and based on the words they type, it will be able to suggest stickers that are appropriate for the word that they are typing (for example typing “happy birthday” will pull up various birthday-related stickers).
WhatsApp is working on a stickers search feature on Android, that will be available in future.
It’s under development. pic.twitter.com/ZtOK5RXrMB— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) November 8, 2018
Google seems to be implementing something similar except for GIFs, where through the use of AI, Google’s Gboard keyboard app will be able to suggest GIFs to users. We expect that sticker functionality on WhatsApp should improve in the future, but for now it still feels kind of basic.