For many, WhatsApp has become a conversation platform, with more than 2 billion people using the Facebook-owned app to keep in touch with friends and family In addition to encrypted messaging, WhatsApp has a variety of user-appealing features And WhatsApp is about to expand its bag of tricks

Specifically, two new features have been added to WhatsApp that are about to broaden WhatsApp's appeal

The ability to mute parts of a conversation is perhaps the most fundamental change to WhatsApp Previously, WhatsApp only offered the ability to mute a conversation for 8 hours, a week, or a year But now, with the addition of the option to mute a conversation forever, you can now make the decision to effectively ghost a person's messages without ever seeing them again

This feature requires the latest version of WhatsApp, and even then, updates to the mute feature seem to be staggered iOS or Android users can select the conversation they wish to mute, long press its icon, and several account mute-related options pop up

To remove the conversation from view forever, tap the checkbox next to "Always" and make sure "Show Notifications" remains unchecked You will remain in the chat, but you will not receive pings from various members inside day and night This should (fortunately) reduce the volume of messages, especially from the group

But casually exiting from conversations is not all that WhatsApp will feature Users will soon be able to shop within the app; according to the WhatsApp blog, prospective buyers will be able to purchase items directly from within the chat In other words, the possibility of shopping as if it were a conversation

When a WhatsApp user texts a video game retailer that they would like to purchase a certain title, they will receive product information and a link to complete the transaction, place the item in their virtual shopping cart within WhatsApp, and check out

WhatsApp calls this process "business messaging," as described in a special video the company created to demonstrate the concept It appears that this could be a means of Facebook Pay, which the social media network uses as part of Facebook Shops, but this has not been fully confirmed

Nor has a rollout date for the new shopping-centric feature been confirmed WhatsApp users in Brazil were able to try out a pilot program to purchase goods from local vendors, but the country's central bank has stopped the experiment, citing potential conflicts with rules and regulations regarding cash

WhatsApp continues to evolve little by little Now you might want to check your own downloads to see if you can mute that noisy group chat without leaving forever As for shopping, it could certainly take some time