“Total disaster”, “Broken tinkered”: This WhatsApp change enrages fans

• WhatsApp rolls out a new menu for selecting emojis.
• The emojis are rearranged here. Familiar gestures also no longer work.
• However, there are some workarounds to circumvent the change.

Messenger WhatsApp revises its app at regular intervals. The updates not only add new functions, but the developers at Meta are also trying to improve usability. In the latest update, they take on the emoji selection menu. This is undergoing several changes at the same time.

You will now find the tabs for “Emojis”, “Stickers” and “GIFs” above the menu and no longer below it. The bar has practically swapped positions with the emoji category selection bar. In addition, there is one more change. You can now scroll through the entire emoji list from top to bottom. Previously, however, you saw all emojis in a category at once and switched to the next category with a swipe movement to the right. Now this gesture will cause you to switch to GIF picker or stickers.

Apparently most fans liked the old selection menu better, because the reactions to the new emoji update are anything but positive. The User Niek Hoogendoorn describes on X (formerly Twitter) the update as a “total disaster”. He not only criticizes the arrangement of the symbols, but also the loading speed of the menu. Other users on X also complain about this.

There are not only complaints on “X”, critical voices are also increasing in our editorial mailbox. The wish has been expressed several times that the old menu should be brought back at least as an option. Many of you also don’t understand why WhatsApp has changed anything in the menu at all, there was no need to “mess things up”.

However, the submissions also include constructive suggestions to simplify the selection of emojis. For example, it is desired that unused emojis can be permanently removed from the menu in order to streamline it.

What is your opinion on the new emoji board? Vote or write us a letter to the editor on the subject.

If the feedback remains predominantly negative, it cannot be ruled out that WhatsApp will reject the innovation or make changes to it. The messenger makes the split-screen mode on tablets optional after persistent criticism.

Until then, you can also try some workarounds to avoid having to use the new emoji bar. We present the individual options for this in the linked article.

Also interesting…

More changes are coming

By the way, the Android version of WhatsApp is about to have further far-reaching visual changes. In another article, we will tell you why the menu bar slides to the bottom edge of the screen on WhatsApp.

Several new icons in Messenger are also causing a stir at the moment. We’ll tell you what’s behind the new button on WhatsApp Web, the wave in chats and the arrow next to your name.