A new WhatsApp update is being rolled out gradually, which will add a new tab next to Calls, Chats and Contacts. Called ‘Status’, this new tab celebrates the messaging app’s 8th birthday, which arrives later this week. Here’s how your boring, ‘Hey there, I’m using WhatsApp’ status is about to change.
You no longer have to stick to text, in order to announce your status. Instead, you can now share photos, videos, GIFs as your WhatsApp status. However, since the makers want you to be more expressive and use the ‘Status’ feature more often, any new status update will self destruct after 24 hours. Unlike earlier though, you will have total control on the list of people your status messages/videos/GIFs/pictures are visible to. Anybody who reacts or replies to your Status message, will only be visible to you in a private chat window with that person, also indicating which status message they are replying to.
In an official blogpost, Facebook co-founder Jan Koum made the announcement and said, “We are excited to announce that, coinciding with WhatsApp’s 8th birthday on February 24, we are reinventing the status feature. Starting today, we are rolling out an update to status, which allows you to share photos and videos with your friends and contacts on WhatsApp in an easy and secure way. Yes, even your status updates are end-to-end encrypted. Just like eight years ago when we first started WhatsApp, this new and improved status feature will let you keep your friends who use WhatsApp easily updated in a fun and simple way. From all of us at WhatsApp, we hope you enjoy it!”
