WhatsApp updates Android app with animation toggle, removes avatar stickers and revamps group UI

WhatsApp has added a native option for Android users to turn off chat‑bubble animations. The setting is found under Settings → Accessibility → Animation and lets users improve performance, extend battery life and reduce visual motion for accessibility reasons.

At the same time, the company is discontinuing the 3‑D avatar stickers feature, removing the related privacy controls after low user adoption. Users can still retrieve any saved avatar stickers from the recent elements or favorites section.

The latest beta also reorganises the group‑chat interface, separating preferences (theme, media storage, local storage management) and privacy (chat lock, end‑to‑end encryption verification) into distinct top‑level tabs, reducing vertical scrolling and streamlining security settings.