NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Instant messaging platform WhatsApp on Tuesday launched a number of updates to one of its key features – the Status. The company said it will give the users more ways to connect with their friends and family.
The five major updates include Private Audience Selector, which allows users to select the privacy settings for each status they share. According to it, the audience, a user chooses through Private Audience Selector will be saved and used as the default for the next status. The WhatsApp had introduced the status feature on the occasion of its eighth birthday on February 24, 2017.
Other major updates released by the messaging platform are addition of a Voice Status, which will give WhatsApp users the ability to record and share voice messages up to 30 seconds on their status. Further, Status Reactions will allow users to quickly respond to status updates from friends and close contacts using one of eight emojis. WhatsApp said this was the top feature users wanted after the launch of Reactions last year.
The Status Reaction update will also allow users to reply to a status with text, voice message, stickers and more. The platform has also added Status Profile Rings for New Updates, which will show around a contact’s profile picture whenever they share a status update. It will be visible in the chat lists, group participant lists, and contact info, according to WhatsApp.
Finally, a new Link Preview on Status will allow users to automatically see a visual preview of the link content, just like when you send a message. “Visual previews make your statuses look better, and also give your contacts a better idea of what the link is before they click,” the company said in a release. The company said these updates have started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
(Manas Dasgupta)
