Yahoo Finance WhatsApp adds new stickers to support social distancing
The stickers encourage hand washing, working from home and virtual hangouts.
WhatsApp is giving its 2 billion users an extra reminder about the importance of staying home during the coronavirus pandemic. The app is rolling out a new set of “together at home” stickers as part of its wide-ranging effort to turn the messaging service into a force for accurate and helpful updates, rather than misinformation.
WhatsApp says it worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) on the stickers, which are available in 10 languages. The stickers encourage hand washing, working from home and other social distancing concepts. The update comes after Instagram launched a popular “Stay Home” sticker to advocate for social distancing measures and Facebook and Messenger added new “care” reactions.
Facebook has previously said it’s seen use of its messaging apps spike as more of its users are forced to stay home. At the same time, the increased usage had also forced WhatsApp to roll out more protections against misinformation about the pandemic. WhatsApp has added tighter controls on message forwarding and worked with outside developers to create messaging bots to share timely health information and dispel hoaxes.
