WhatsApp gives users many ways to express themselves, earning it a spot on our list of the best communication apps out there. However, the developers at Meta have mostly focused on functional aspects in recent updates, while text formatting has been noticeably neglected since 2017. Finally addressing that issue, WhatsApp was recently spotted working on a few new text formatting options and better message editing support for when you misspoke.

Back in 2016, WhatsApp introduced formatting tools like bold, italics, and strikethrough for text in the app, so you can lay emphasis on specific aspects, create subheadings, and redact text as needed. Later that year, the monospace option was added, usually used to format code snippets. In 2017, developers delivered a tiny update squeezing all these options into the floating text toolbar they reside in today. Since then, WhatsApp has done little to keep formatting tools abreast, while the likes of Telegram, Discord, and Slack raced ahead.

New text formatting options on WhatsApp

Thankfully, WABetaInfo spotted WhatsApp playing catch-up once again with support for code block, quote block, and bulleted list formatting in the pipeline. The features were seen on the latest beta for WhatsApp Desktop, but there’s a good chance it will reach the Android and iOS builds eventually.

Unlike monospace, the code block formatting shows text inside a slightly different color window, like in Slack. Quote blocks can be used to cite a specific portion of a linked article or WhatsApp message, so the recipient of the message understands the context better. Compared to the current quote message feature, quote blocks can be great for responding to segments of a message instead of the entire text. Lastly, bulleted lists are invaluable for the WhatsApp note-takers who simply refuse to install a dedicated app and prefer WhatsApp’s self-messaging option instead.

However, WhatsApp doesn’t seem to have developed numbered lists, or spoiler text formatting yet, even though rival apps have these options. Telegram even added support for editing entire stories with the tenth anniversary update recently. WhatsApp is a long way behind, but has now started rolling out the ability to edit captions for attachments on both Android and iOS.

Support for caption editing is rolling out now

You can edit captions just like a normal message. The facility is available for up to 15 minutes after sending a photo, video, GIF, or document with an accompanying caption. WhatsApp is perpetually behind the competition, but we have to give Meta and its developers the credit for giving the app attention and ensuring a steady stream of feature updates.