WhatsApp is the latest Facebook product to include a Snapchat stories-like feature.
The company announced that they’re introducing “Status”, a new feature that allows users to share decorated photos, videos, and GIFs as status updates. These statuses only last for 24 hours and users can also reply to friends’ updates directly from the post.
According to the Facebook-owned company, the new update is a gift to users in conjunction with the messaging app’s 8th anniversary. It is also a throwback to the original purpose of WhatsApp.
“When WhatsApp launched nearly 8 years ago, it started as an app for sharing status updates, where people could type a short line of text to let their friends know what they were up to. When we noticed people were using the feature to communicate in real time, we redesigned WhatsApp as a messaging app,” the company said in a blog post.
WhatsApp Status will be rolled out on 24th February 2017 and it will be available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. WhatsApp also added that the status updates are end-to-end encrypted.
As much as we love sharing our day-to-day activities with our friends on social media, we don’t really think WhatsApp’s new feature is necessary. We hate to say this but updating social media is beginning to feel like a chore now.
What do you think about the new WhatsApp Status? Yay or nay? Let us know in the comments below.
Sources: The Verge, Lowyat.NET, Tech Crunch.
