WhatsApp Stickers Could Soon Look More Beautiful

Our favourite chat apps have evolved beyond text, images, and videos, now supporting GIFs, customizable sticker packs, and regularly updated Unicode emoji. Despite its immense popularity, Meta-owned WhatsApp has often been criticized for not standing out from its competitors. However, WhatsApp stickers could soon look more beautiful. A recent beta update suggests that developers are aware of this issue and are working on integrating animated sticker support to enhance the user experience.

WhatsApp Stickers Could Soon Look More Beautiful

While the Unicode consortium regularly adds new emoji characters to facilitate smoother conversations, emoji lack the visual appeal and creative freedom offered by GIFs or colourful personalized stickers. WhatsApp has been working on animating emojis since 2022, and a recent beta update (version 2.24.5.10) indicates that Meta is also planning to animate stickers. While some sticker packs already feature basic animations, the app is reportedly working on incorporating more advanced animated stickers using the Lottie framework and existing WebP-based stickers.

The WebP image format, widely used for its ability to maintain image quality while reducing file sizes, has limitations when it comes to scaling images and supporting animations. The Lottie framework, on the other hand, offers SVG-like lossless scaling and better animations, providing WhatsApp sticker creators with more creative freedom for designing intricate movements and transitions.

While the addition of animated stickers may seem like a minor change, it has the potential to significantly enhance the visual appeal of WhatsApp, which has billions of users worldwide. Introducing detailed, crisp animations in stickers could revitalize sticker usage on the platform. However, as the feature is still in development, there is no official timeline for its release in the stable version of the app.

See Also: WhatsApp Rolls Out New Text Formatting Options for Better Messaging