When it comes to messaging apps, companies are fighting to increase their market shares with features such as screen sharing, context-aware recommendations, and even fact-checking services. Viber has been busy improving its offering with the recent addition of a dark mode and the ability to edit sent messages. However, some elementary features were missing compared to its most famous rival, like quick replies and clearer conversation status visibility. These are finally making their way to the app with the rollout of minor improvements that make the software just a little more convenient to use.
The most relevant enhancement lets you swipe down on a message to reply to it, just like you would in WhatsApp. Although this might seem like a minor change, it makes it faster and clearer to talk about a specific topic.
Besides, the main chat list now shows the status for a particular conversation. You'll therefore see whether someone has read your message, is typing a response, or if you have an unsent draft pending, by merely glancing at the list. Similarly, you'll see what type of attachment you've received to quickly know whether someone sent a photo, video, or sticker.
Viber has also made it easier to see what groups you have in common with a particular person, which you can access directly from the information screen when talking to them. To finish, they've added some extra protection to the desktop app, with the ability to lock your chat with a password, so you're sure nobody else is peaking on your conversations.
These features are expected to roll out this month for Android and iOS users. Although they're nice improvements, I'm surprised some of them took so long to be implemented, especially since most of them have been on WhatsApp for a while now.