WhatsApp is reportedly working on two new features ‘Vacation Mode’ and ‘Linked Accounts’. According to the report by WABetaInfo, the new feature will be released by Android, iOS and Windows Phone operating system platforms. The new ‘Vacation Mode’ is an extension of the company’s ‘Silent Mode’, which was recently rolled out to Android users.

The new ‘Silent Mode’ hides any notification dots for muted chats on the app, which means the users will not see how many new messages are in the muted chats from the WhatsApp icon on the device. This new feature is pre-activated for all WhatsApp users with the latest update for the app.

Currently, when you archive a chat, WhatsApp automatically un-archives it once a new message is received from that chat. However, when you turn on the Vacation Mode, conversations won’t get un-archived even if you had previously muted them. 

The purpose would be that if you are trying to get away from all the WhatsApp mayhem for a while, you can mute conversations, and schedule a little detox. And whenever you get back, you will still be able to get back to your archives despite receiving a new message in that chat.

The second rumoured feature is “Linked Accounts”, which will essentially link your account with external services, like Instagram, Facebook. The feature seems to be developed mainly for WhatsApp Business, however, according to the report, there have been some references of the feature in the main WhatsApp app as well. The current theory is that it would help you recover your Facebook or Instagram account using the WhatsApp app in the future. There’s also a possibility you would be able to share Status/Story updates between the three apps.

Soon you will be able to archive annoying work chats, and leave friends and family in your core app – giving you a chance to properly unwind on hols.

The feature isn’t available yet, but it’s located in Settings > Notifications – so keep an eye out for future updates.