WhatsApp is more like a lightweight version of Messenger. It does what it does best: messaging and sharing with less to no gimmick.
But as time passes by, WhatsApp is adding bulks into its platform. To some, this strategy somehow drifts WhatsApp's original mission away, but the company did made those added features useful by making them as simple as possible, again a contrast to Messenger.
In another attempt to bolster its mission to make the app more useful to users, WhatsApp is adding a feature where users can share any type of files they want.
Previously, WhatsApp only supported documents, photos and videos. With the update, users can share any file types, up to 100MB in size. This update could be incredibly useful for people who want to share files, executable or any other file types previously impossible to share directly inside WhatsApp.
It could also be useful as an alternative to email attachment and cloud storage sharing. Combined with WhatsApp on desktop and app, the update certainly makes WhatsApp a more powerful messaging that at the same time, retain is lightweight appeal.
The only and major drawback for such feature, is malware. With the ability to send any files to other people, WhatsApp users are becoming more prone to threats of clicking on links and downloading unknown files. In regions where rooting is more common, this could potentially open up users to malware.
Android is more prone because users can simply install apps using .apk files from unknown sources. Apple's iOS doesn't allow this as Apple's App Store process is much more locked down.
Though WhatsApp started out as a basic chat app, WhatsApp has steadily added more advanced features. What makes the platform unique is that, updates and added features are blending well with the original mission, making them useful but still preserving the well-known WhatsApp experience.
Apart from support for all file types and media bundling, the WhatsApp update also enables text formatting in the chat. So when users are typing text in a chat window, they can tap and hold to select the text to easily bold, strikethrough, or italicize. This feature was also available earlier to beta users. Additionally, users can also select photos and videos straight from the camera screen.