This is what WhatsApp's new group polls will look like

WhatsApp message thread on iPhone X (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz/iMore)

What you need to know

WhatsApp continues to work on adding polls to group chats.
A new screenshot shows what WhatsApp polls will look like in-chat.

WhatsApp is testing the ability to run polls via group chats with more information about the upcoming feature having now been made available. For the first time, we have a screenshot of what the new polls will look like when embedded into a group chat.

The new WhatsApp feature is still in active development but this is the first time that the beta-watchers at WABetaInfo have been able to share what the new poll interface will look like. As you'd expect, WhatsApp users will be able to select a preferred option and vote, with the result shared with everyone who is part of the group.

Whatsapp Group Chat Poll Receipt Screenshot (Image credit: WABetaInfo)

As you can see in this screenshot, we have finally discovered the interface when sending a poll. If you haven't voted a poll yet, you can choose the option to vote. When you press "Vote", your selected option will be shared with other participants of the group. Note that group polls, their options, and your answer, are end-to-end encrypted, so nobody can see the content of the poll, not even WhatsApp.

As the report notes, the polls — and answers — are end-to-end encrypted which ensures that nobody can intercept their contents.

While the latest beta release of WhatsApp does have the most complete version of the new poll feature to date, it's still incomplete. We've no timescale for when the feature will be rolled out to the version of WhatsApp that's in the App Store, but hopefully it won't be too long. The ability to run a poll in a WhatsApp group could be a great addition — if only to make it easier for families to decide what to have for dinner!

WhatsApp is one of the best iPhone apps for people who need to communicate with Android users and can be downloaded from the App Store for free, now.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.