How WhatsApp's new picture-in-picture mode works?

The Facebook-owned messaging platform, on Sunday, rolled out the picture-in-picture mode for all android users with the latest version of the app. The feature has been available for all iOS devices since early last year and has finally arrived on android as well. WhatsApp had initially introduced the feature on the Android beta version of the platform in October. The new feature will allow users to watch video content from third-party apps within WhatsApp. This means that the users don't need to move outside the chat window to watch videos from now on. 

How PiP mode will work?

The feature has been rolled out with the latest WhatsApp stable version 2.18.380. Earlier, the users were re-directed to the external link to watch videos by the platform. But, with PiP mode, the video will be played on the top half of the chat window itself. They will have the option to convert to full-screen viewing.

The new update will be applicable on links of key video platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram, among others. The users will also be able to operate the video timeline bar below, to scroll to or past different segments. Initially, WhatsApp has provide the support from few major social media platforms but is likely to expand it to other platforms too. 

How to get PiP mode?

To get the picture-in-picture mode, users need to download the latest version of WhatsApp from Google Play Store. They can also update the platform from within the app. The new mode is available for both individual as well as group chats across all android devices. 

It has been a busy year for WhatsApp where it has introduced a number of new features including 'forward label' to curb fake news and WhatsApp stickers, among others. It is reportedly considering a Dark mode, like YouTube, to make night-time viewing easier.