3 things I hate about WhatsApp
Adjusting to change can be difficult, but it’s often worth it in the end. When new WhatsApp features are introduced, they should improve the app with new functionality and services without disrupting order within the WhatsApp universe. There are three features that I really don’t like about WhatsApp. In fact, I think I hate them.
I use WhatsApp every day to chat with friends, send photos and also update my grandmother on how life is going. Yes, my grandmother has WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and every communication app you could imagine. I also use WhatsApp to call my parents, who are on the other side of the world, and to send documents to my colleagues.
Some new features that are being added to WhatsApp are extremely helpful in my day-to-day life, but not every new feature is perfect. I think WhatsApp should stop with so many changes.
1. I'm tired of making calls by mistake
I'm so, so tired. It's been more than a year since voice calls were introduced on WhatsApp. And not a day has gone by in which I haven't called one of my contacts when I was simply trying to send a file to them. Damn you, little phone icon. This doesn’t need much explanation – the button is just badly positioned.
2. Icons are continually moving and it drives me crazy
When elements within WhatsApp change position, change without anyone being notified, it drives me bat-crazy. Since WhatsApp’s first day of existence, the option to share photos was the first button in the share menu. But then one day ‘documents’ came and took its place. Horrible story, right? And here I am going crazy, feeling that something is missing and spending precious seconds of my time looking, searching for the photo-sharing option. I want more services and more choice. But WhatsApp, please leave icons where they are.
When elements in WhatsApp change position, it drives me bat-crazy
Now, when I need to send a picture to someone, I click the first icon purely out of habit. But when the option to share documents pops up, I ask myself where the pictures are. Then I realize I clicked the wrong button. But sorry, WhatsApp. It’s you and not me. There are some rare moments in life when I believe certain things should remain as they are. This is one of those times.
3. I have a love/hate relationship with those blue ticks
WhatsApp’s blue ticks should never have appeared. I’ve already got a patience problem as it is – that is, I have none. Knowing that a contact has seen my messages and simply chosen not to answer is super frustrating. But my common sense tells me to remember that people have their own lives – work, family and everything else – that could prevent them from answering me right away.
The terrible twist of irony here is that I hate that they can also see if I've read their messages. And yes...I know that this feature can be disabled. But my curiosity speaks louder and, in the end, I do want to see if they see my messages or not.
Now I hope that you’ve got an idea of why I hate these WhatsApp features. Who knows what features are yet to come and how many developers are rubbing their palms together as they plot their next updates. I like using WhatsApp and it’s a big part of my daily life, but I urge its app devs to stop moving icons around, especially to impractical places.
Do you agree with me? Are there any things about WhatsApp that frustrate you?
This article is damn right to the point
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My main issue is that i frequently dont get notifications or ringingi get told when ive got a message if i wake phone from standbye to send a message etc i can check the call list to find ive missed multiple calls from a contact but my phone has been sitting right next to me so there is no way i would have missed it had it rung. I know its not just me as other friends have the same issues using different types of phones
Never experienced none of those before reporting live from a Lg G3 T-Mobile
Yea , you forgot to mention... How Whatsapp turned into a bore!
Yeah.. Working in tech.. icons move you gotta deal with it.. The phone icon is annoying tho I'll give u that..
Glad you brought this up. I dowleaded WhatsApp recently and was just going to start using it. Glad I'm not tied to old habits.
I have been frustrated with this app for a very long time. I am now a faithful user of WeChat. The difficulty has been getting people to convert.
It beats me why people still use whatsapp. WeChat has twenty features to every one that WhatsApp has.
I hate moving icons. Many apps or OSs do that... Especially Windows and Office... not just on mobile phones. It's like change for change sake, nothing more... It seems that the developer just puts it together and leaves users to adjust instead of using user input to design these interfaces.
Perhaps u forgot to mention about WA web. Whenever possible I use it mainly to save smartphone's battery, but it's frustrating that it lacks many features of the original app. I understand though that they are working on a desktop App or program that does not replicate phone's app as is now but that it will actually sync with it. This is something most WA users have claimed for some time now.
I use WhatsApp on a daily basis... So yeah there are a few caveats to having constant changes. But thing is, we all have to adjust to these changes.
I agree with the call button, but in my case I actually hit it still expecting a call through my carrier because I'm too lazy to scroll through my Phone Book to find the person. They should add a setting to disable WhatsApp voice calling.
Other than that, I'm pretty much loving WhatsApp at the moment
Totally agree! Blue ticks used to make me paranoid sometimes - you see that your message has been viewed (not necessarily read), but then not responded to... Now I simply ignore them whatsoever.
The phone icon is implemented in a way that you sometimes click before realizing that you are whatsup calling, not cellphone calling your contacts.
I think that was the intention though - making this experience as smooth and frictionless as possible to get you used to it. Doesn't stop it from being frustrating anyways.
I totally agree with you about the moving icons, once we get used to where something is we don't want it to move, it's as stupid as it would be constantly changing the positions of characters on keyboards for heaven's sake!
And especially the phone icon causing wrong calls to be made, worst annoying and constant problem, very frustrating!
However, the blue ticks are the best invention ever, just like confirmation of received and read emails, at least we know the messages have arrived. Living in areas of terrible mobile reception, knowing if we reached the recipient is paramount.
Thank you for a great post.
Man, I don't think it's WhatsApp... It's you.
So you use WhatsApp on a daily basis but you can't remember where things go?
First time it's WhatsApp fault, the rest it's just you...
I can see a series here... You hating every single Google app that won't stop evolving...
Could be. That´s why it is an opinion piece ;)
Claudio, Lia's comments were constructive and for good reasons, bashing her opinions for the sake of it is just mean!
That wasn't my intention. Sorry if it came out that way.
Claudio, I really appreciate your reply. I suppose it was the way it was said. I agree with the ticks, as I said, we live in an area without mobile coverage and depend on the blue ticks. And anything that can be disabled is ok, but items/icons moved around for no reason is annoying, when u get used to something it's hard to keep changing, not to mention everyone ringing people inadvertently with the bad position of the green handset.
Thank you!
I think if developers are going to move icons, particularly inserting new ones at the beginning of a list, they should only do that as part of a broader GUI facelift, so that you are forced to learn the new icon locations.
I haven't had problems with accidental WhatsApp calls, but I never have it installed for long on my RAM deficient phone because of the resources it demands. However, poor button placement makes my head ache. I have problems with accidental sends whilst editing messages in Facebook Messenger (which has a stronger following in Australia than WhatsApp).
I'm pretty old school, though. As a user, and a mechanical engineer that has studied ergonomics, I don't like touchscreens in general, and think there are very few applications where they are the ideal interface. Overlaid on a graphical interface used for high resolution text and images, such as on a phone, is not one. Granted, they make good use of scarce surface area, but regularly wiping greasy fingers over a display that needs to accurately show high resolution images to remain useful doesn't seem sensible. I also miss the tactile feedback and almost perfect elimination of false positive keystrokes that mechanical buttons provide.