WhatsApp Announces Slew of New Status Update Features

WhatsApp has announced some new features for Status Updates, which allow users to share ephemeral updates with friends and close contacts on the popular encrypted chat platform.

whatsapp status updates
First up is Private Audience Selector, which allows users to choose who views their status updates. This isn't technically new, since users are already able to control who sees their status updates when sharing them, but this implementation provides a more customized experience. The most recent audience selection is saved and used as the default for the next status update.

Next, Voice Status. Using this feature, users can share voice notes of up to 30 seconds via their status. WhatsApp describes it as offering a way of sending more personal updates, especially if users feel more comfortable expressing themselves by talking rather than typing.

Status Reactions allow users to react to status updates from friends and close contacts by swiping up and tapping one of eight emojis, including Heart-Eyes, Face with Tears of Joy, Face with Open Mouth, Crying Face, Folded Hands, Clapping Hands, Party Popper, and One Hundred Points. WhatsApp says this was the number one feature that users requested.

New Status Profile Rings make it easier to see status updates right within chat lists, group participant lists, and contact info, thanks to a ring around a user's profile picture whenever they share a status update.

Lastly, new Link Previews on Status mean that whenever a user posts a link, a visual preview of the link's content is available, giving contacts a better idea of what the link is before they click.

As WABetaInfo notes, some of these features are not exactly new, but they have been added to the list of recent improvements for status updates to highlight WhatsApp's commitment to improving the user experience.

WhatsApp says these updates have started rolling out to all users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.

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Top Rated Comments

Reason077 Avatar
28 months ago

Whatsapp is THE messenger in Malaysia and India
Same in the UK, and all of Western Europe afaik. The only people who ever iMessage me are Americans, and my Mum (who will switch between messaging apps randomly).
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwoBytes Avatar
28 months ago
iPad app?
No?
Meh.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The-Real-Deal82 Avatar
28 months ago
It is frustrating the biggest messaging platform in Europe still doesn’t have an iPad app. How many years now? [emoji2359]
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rizzo41999 Avatar
28 months ago
Outside the US, the whole world uses WhatsApp
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MajorFubar Avatar
28 months ago
WhatsApp is THE default messaging app in most of the world. Mostly I use WhatsApp by default because sending multimedia messages via the iPhone Messages app to 'green recipients' costs me extra money on top of my celular plan, and outside of the USA, 'green recipients' represent the majority of users by far. Whereas WhatsApp (and others) use the internet, so sending multimedia messages is essentially free, or more accurately, tied into the cost of my home-broadband and cellular plans.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timber Avatar
28 months ago

Outside the US, the whole world uses WhatsApp
This is one case where Apple's strong US bias really served them wrong.

They had the opportunity to set and even control the standard for instante messaging and totally blew it. Not as entertaining as Google's fails in IM but still a total fail.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)