It seems nothing beats plain old text when it comes to expressing what’s on your mind. Not even GIFs, videos or pictures. So in a week’s time, you will be able to announce it to the world again, “Hey there! I’m using WhatsApp.” The communication service has decided to restore the text status feature, after a lot of users complained about its removal. As a result, all WhatsApp users on Android will get the feature in the coming week, while iOS folks will receive the update shortly thereafter.
In a statement issued to TechCrunch, the company clarified, “We heard from our users that people missed the ability to set a persistent text-only update in their profile, so we’ve integrated this feature into the ‘About’ section in profile settings. Now, the update will appear next to profile names anytime you view contacts, such as when creating a new chat or looking at Group info. At the same time, we’re continuing to build on the new Status feature that gives people fun and engaging ways to share photos, videos and GIFs with their friends and family throughout their day.”
The new ‘Status Stories’ feature will co-exist along with text and some who’ve taken liking to the new addition will still be able to add videos, GIFs and photos, which will self destruct in 24 hours. For those who wish to revert to text, they will be able to set their status in the ‘About’ section, which will remain static, unless you change it yourself. People in your contact list will be able to see the Status when they view your contact details, when starting a new chat thread, or while viewing group info.
