Popular messaging service for mobile WhatsApp received an update to its Android version that adds several new, useful features.

For version 2.12.367 of WhatsApp for Android, users now have the option of starring messages to find them easier, while also gaining rich previews for links being sent through the service and Android Direct Share support.

Starred messages are among the most requested features for WhatsApp, and so the addition of the feature through the latest update will surely be appreciated. To star a message, users simply have to tap and hold on one of their messages in chat and select the star option. To remove the star from a message, users will only have to follow the same process and select the crossed star option.

The star will serve like a bookmark so that the user can get back to the message easier. Users can browse through all the messages that they have starred through the Menu of Chats, where a Starred Messages option will now appear.

A beta version of the Android version of WhatsApp released earlier in the month previewed the starred messages feature, which was already released earlier for the iOS version of the messaging app.

In addition to starred messages, Android users can now enjoy rich previews for links that are sent to other users. The previews reveal significant amounts of information regarding the shared link without the user having to click on the link, but the feature takes up a lot of space on the screen. Users can choose to send link without rich previews, if they prefer.

Lastly, the latest update to WhatsApp for Android adds Direct Share support, which is a feature introduced along with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The feature allows users to share content with other users much easier. To illustrate, previously, users sharing a link with a WhatsApp contact would have to first click on the share button, select WhatsApp, select the contact, and then choose to send the link. With Direct Share support added to WhatsApp, users will be able to select a specific chat on WhatsApp directly on the share menu

The update to the Android version of WhatsApp is now live through the Google Play Store.