What's New WeChat: Voice-to-Text Magic, Incognito Commenting & More

Irene Li, Associate Editor | Sep 18, 2023 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 546 reads

WeChat has been on a roll recently, rolling out updates left, right, and center. Honestly, we're always a tad excited whenever they introduce new features. It's like a fun game of exploration because you never know when these features might come in handy or how much time they can save, especially considering how much we're all glued to WeChat. So, let's dive into some of the new features along with some that although aren't brand new, you might not know about. (Please note, these features were spotted in IOS version 8.0.42).

Unread messages? Just double-tap!

We've all been there, trudging through heaps of messages to find those elusive unread ones. It's a real headache. Well, this new feature might just become your best friend. Just double-tap the 'Chats' button on the bottom left, and voila! You're instantly taken to the first unread message. Tap again, and you're onto the next one. Hunting for important unread messages just became a whole lot easier.

Set a reminder for your messages

Ever received a message while you were in the middle of something and wanted to get back to it later? WeChat's got you covered. You can set a reminder for any message in any chat now. Just give a long press and pick 'reminders'.

After that, you're all set to choose what time you want to be reminded to reply.

Later, WeChat will gently nudge you when it's time to revisit it.

Voice-to-Text Magic

We all love the convenience of WeChat's voice messaging, right? You just hold down a button, spill your thoughts, and voila! Well, WeChat just took it a step further. Now you can convert these voice messages into text, this feature has been available for Chinese messages for a while but now it can convert English messages too! Simply swipe slightly on the right and hit 'En'. Boom! Your spoken words transform into typed text. Perfect for when you have loads to say but can't be bothered to type it all out or want to read a voice message instead of listening to it.

Photo Shuffle for Moments

To all the photo enthusiasts out there, this one's for you. When sharing snapshots on WeChat Moments, you can now shuffle your photos around. Just long press and hold a picture, then reposition it wherever you like. And if you suddenly decide you don't want a particular photo, simply drag it to the bottom of the screen and tap delete.

Incognito Commenting

Ever wanted to comment on a WeChat subscription channel but didn't want your friends to know it was you? Well, now you can comment incognito. Just scroll down to the bottom and create a new identity by clicking on '创建新身份' Chuàngjiàn xīn shēnfèn.

You can customize your profile photo and even create a fun alias. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can click on 'Random profile photo and alias' and let WeChat pick for you. We ended up with a funky cartoon character named "神经蛙 Shénjīng wā" with a cool frog avatar!