Available on the Apple App Store, the changelog for the update doesn’t mention the text detection feature. It only states the ability to record a voice note and share it via status along with other features. But WaBetaInfo has confirmed in its report that more people installing the update will be able to use this feature.

What is WhatsApp text detection feature?

The feature enables users to extract text from images shared on WhatsApp. Once the feature is available, users will need to open an image that contains text and will see a new button that lets them copy text from the image.

Readers should note that this feature is only available on iOS 16 as WhatsApp uses the iOS 16 API to detect text within images. Additionally, this feature is not compatible with single view images for added privacy.

In other news, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will make it easier to identify messages received from unknown contacts in WhatsApp group chats. According to a report by WaBetaInfo, the instant messaging app has rolled out the latest WhatsApp beta update for Android 2.23.5.12 from the Play Store. The update improves on a feature that WhatsApp introduced in December 2022 that swapped numbers with push names in message bubbles of group chats.

According to the screenshot shared in the report, whenever a user receives a message from an unknown contact in a group chat, he or she will see the push name instead of the mobile number in the chat list. The same feature has also been rolled out to some iOS beta testers after installing the WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.5.0.73 update.