WhatsApp beta update gets request payment, download deleted media features

The app's beta v2.18.113 for Android devices has been enabled to request money from other users based on Unified Payment Interface (UPI), along with the ability to download deleted media files

WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging app owned by social media giant Facebook, has rolled out the beta update v2.18.113 for Android devices. This update allows the app user to request money from other users based on Unified Payment Interface (UPI), along with the ability to download deleted media files.

WhatsApp’s UPI-based payments feature has been under testing for some time now. First enabled in February, the payments feature reached only a handful of users, and the home-grown wallet service provider Paytm accused WhatsApp of not following UPI payment security guidelines. Soon, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) – a government body behind UPI -- said that WhatsApp would have to make its payments feature fully interoperable in order to continue being part of the UPI ecosystem.

The new payments’ request feature is available only in the beta app for Android and only for select users. The feature requires virtual payment address (VPA) to request payment using UPI protocols. To enable the feature, a user needs to download and install the beta version 2.18.113. In the beta app, the user needs to go to settings and check for ‘payments’ option. Only those users who see the ‘payments’ option can exercise the payments’ request feature by selecting the option and setting it up.

As for the download deleted media feature, the new beta update now allows users to download deleted media files from the WhatsApp server. The feature currently does not work for all media files, but it still manages to re-download some of the deleted items. This, however, means that the files from now on would be saved on the WhatsApp server, besides the user’s device.

To download the deleted media files, a user need to select the chat where the media file was originally shared and click on the blurred media file icon. In some cases, the file gets downloaded from the server. However, some files fail to retrieve data from the server and informs the user to ask for media file again from the sender.