WhatsApp is testing polls in its group chats

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Whatsapp Group Message on iPhone X
Whatsapp Group Message on iPhone X (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz/iMore)

What you need to know

  • WhatsApp is testing the ability to add polls to group chats.
  • The poll and its answers will be encrypted.
  • It isn't yet clear when the feature will be rolled out to the version of WhatsApp that's in the App Store.

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow people to place a poll into a group chat.

The new feature, which is available to those running the beta version of WhatsApp via TestFlight, allows people to add a question and then a number of optional answers before allowing people to vote. The move was first spotted by WABetaInfo and could allow people to more easily settle decisions like what to eat for dinner or what bar to meat at.

Notably, because WhatsApp is encrypted, so are the polls and their answers.

WhatsApp asks to enter the question of the poll to send in a WhatsApp group. Since the feature is under development, there aren't other details right now, but this screenshot is a confirmation that WhatsApp is really planning to introduce polls on WhatsApp. Thanks to polls, you can ask for a question and other people can vote the answer. Note that polls will only be available in WhatsApp groups and they are end-to-end encrypted… even your answers! So only people in the group can see the poll and the results.

Whatsapp Group Chat Poll

Whatsapp Group Chat Poll (Image credit: WABetaInfo)

While there is no timescale available for when this feature will make its way to the App Store version of WhatsApp, the instant messaging outfit is normally pretty good at moving things from beta to production. WhatsApp is already one of the best iPhone apps for sending and receiving encrypted messages and this move is sure to be welcomed by its users.

WhatsApp can be downloaded from the App Store for free.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.