WhatsApp launches four new features exclusively on Android - including personalised avatars and photo sharing

WhatsApp has launched four new features exclusively on Android but those with Apple devices will have to wait for a future update to access the changes.

The new functions will allow users to add captions to documents and media when sending them, as well as the introduction of personalised avatars which can be used as stickers and profile photos.

Other new features include lengthy descriptions allowed in group chats and fewer limits on sending media, with users able to send up to 100 photos and videos at one time.

WhatsApp users that are currently unable to access the new features are advised to wait for the next update.

Apple users have been urged to install the latest update which will fix several bugs and issues. The updates have already been rolled out on the majority of Apple devices including iPhones, iPads, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch and HomePods.

Apple has warned that computers should be updated to MacOS13.2.1, the latest version of Ventura - which includes a fix for a security flaw found in Safari, the read-installed web browser.

The company said the bug allows anyone to run their own code by exploiting a loophole and that it is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited”, meaning that hackers may already know how to use it. The new update will fix this problem because of "improved checks”, Apple said.

A similar update is available for people using older versions of MacOS as well. The iPhone update fixes bugs in iCloud and Sire.

It also brings “optimisations” to the Crash Detection feature - which is on iPhone 14 models and the latest Apple watch. Crash Detection automatically calls the emergency services when it detects the user has been in a car accident.

However, people with the feature reported emergency calls being made when they were on rollercoaster or if they fell over when skiing.

The new Apple update aims to make sure Crash Detection only makes an emergency call if there has been a real car crash so it relies on hardware inside phones, meaning Apple is changing the algorithm that checks the data.

The new features come following after WhatsApp announced five major changes coming to the app last month, including chat transfer and media captions. The new functions allow users to navigate their way around the app with ease, and provides the option to detect text in WhatsApp photos - to copy and paste somewhere else.

Other features include forwarding media without a caption - where users can remove a caption from a previously sent piece of media and send it over to someone else.

WhatsApp has also announced changes to the camera mode where users can turn to take a video with just a tap rather than tap and holding the record button down. A full list of functions can be read here.