WhatsApp is one of the best messaging apps as it has a simple user interface and numerous features. However, many people have decided to quit WhatsApp and switch to Signal in light of the new privacy policy. While it is good to see most of the WhatsApp features available on Signal, there are a few important ones that we are missing. Here are the WhatsApp features we wanted Signal to have.
Live location
This is one of the important features that WhatsApp offers its users, especially in India. While you are given the option to share the location on Signal, users won’t be able to share a live location, which may not be very helpful in some situations. This is a good feature in scenarios where users need to coordinate and meet in places that are otherwise difficult to find. Apps like Telegram and iMessage already offer support for live location. As long as Signal doesn’t add a live location feature, you can use Google Maps to share the live location.
Media settings
Unlike WhatsApp, there is no way to change the media settings for each chat. By default, not all of your photos or videos will be downloaded to your phone’s memory and you will have to download them manually. WhatsApp is widely used in India, and many photos or videos are shared daily, and some people like to save them on their cell phones. The company should offer the option for users to choose whether to automatically download all media to the phone’s memory or create it manually. Of course, this also means that with Signal, all those good morning forwards won’t use up your phone’s memory.
To find out what media you’ve shared with your friend in Signal, just visit the person’s chat> tap the three-dot icon> All Media. Here you can manually select photos, files, videos, audio files and documents (that you have exchanged) to download to your phone.
If you received more than one picture in a chat, all you have to do is long press on the photos and the app will give you the option to download all the pictures. Once you tap the download button, all the photos will be downloaded.
profile pic
There is no way to hide the profile picture from some users. Signal doesn’t have a feature to control who can see your profile picture. Those in your address book or part of a group you accept can see your profile picture on Signal.
Cats backgrounds
There is no way to change the chat wallpaper here. WhatsApp allows you to personalize chats by changing the wallpaper. This makes a chat more interesting and attractive. You can set custom chat or doodle wallpapers. You can also set separate background images in light and dark mode. The ability to add custom chat background images to make chats personal and distinguishable by using a custom background image for different chats is very nice and interesting.
