The popular WhatsApp messaging service is making a small change to its iOS app, but the change may be painful for those used to sharing images and GIFs quickly

As WABetaInfo (via TechRadar) discovered, WhatsApp's iOS beta update will soon remove the context menu This feature will allow users to easily share, copy, and forward messages, images, videos, and other content with a long press, making it a handy tool for sending funny memes and important messages to friends quickly

According to WABetaInfo, the context menu will be removed as WhatsApp investigates "an issue that crashes the share sheet" [Currently, there is no timeline for when the context menu will return in the WhatsApp beta version, and there is no guarantee that it will not be removed in the official version of WhatsApp as well

While the changes appear to be unrelated to the coronavirus outbreak, WhatsApp has made several changes in response to the global crisis

The company recently limited the frequency of WhatsApp message transfers in order to slow the spread of coronavirus-related misinformation The company also launched its own fact-checking page to help people identify questionable information

Fortunately, there are some changes that WhatsApp fans will appreciate The latest beta version will add two much-requested features

The first is an advanced search filter that allows users to find specific files and messages from the entire message library using a detailed filter The second is an option to password protect message backups to protect message archives

Both of these options are available to try in the Android beta, although it is not yet known when they will be available in the released version of WhatsApp