WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new image-editing tool for iPhone users that could make it easier to prepare photos for sharing. The feature is expected to use Meta AI to extend images beyond their original borders and convert them into a vertical 9:16 format, making landscape and square photos suitable for full-screen WhatsApp Status updates.
How the AI image expansion feature works
According to feature tracker WABetaInfo, the feature is being tested with select beta users through WhatsApp beta for iOS version 26.44.10.16, available on Apple’s TestFlight programme.
When users select a photo to share in an individual or group chat, WhatsApp reportedly opens its drawing editor. Alongside the existing editing tools, a new image expansion option is expected to appear. Selecting it will allow Meta AI to analyse the original photo and generate additional visual content around its edges.
The process is said to take a few seconds. Once the expanded image is ready, it appears in the editor for users to review before sharing.
WhatsApp will reportedly retain user control over the final image. The app will not send the edited photo automatically. Users can preview the result, undo the changes to restore the original image or generate another version.
Support for WhatsApp Status updates
Meta AI is expected to examine the subject and context of the original photo before creating additional details around it. The expanded image will reportedly use a vertical 9:16 layout, with the added content designed to look like a natural extension of the original scene.
The feature may also work beyond individual and group conversations. Users could expand photos directly within WhatsApp before posting them as Status updates, removing the need for a separate image-editing app.
The image expansion tool is currently available to a limited number of users running the latest beta version through TestFlight. WhatsApp is reportedly expanding access gradually to more accounts.
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