WhatsApp Status is WhatsApp’s answer to Snapchat and Instagram Stories. Post photos or short videos that exist for 24 hours.
WhatsApp Status
When WhatsApp started as an app in 2009, users could only provide a status update. In the same year, the chat function was also added, but the status update remained part of the app. This way you could let others know that you were ‘available’ or ‘in a meeting’. This feature will now disappear, because the new WhatsApp Status is something completely different. In the tab you will now find a kind of Snapchat or Instagram Stories.
The idea is that you can decorate videos, photos or gifs and post them as status. These images will then remain available to your contacts for 24 hours. You can indicate whether you want all your contacts to see the images, or whether you want to exclude certain people from it. Just like your chat messages, these status updates are encrypted end-to-end.
“Every year when Brian and I were planning projects, improving and developing this status feature came up again,” writes Jan Koum of WhatsApp. Why is the moment right now? WhatsApp has a party to celebrate. The app may blow out eight candles on February 24. “Just like 8 years ago when we started WhatsApp, this new and improved status feature makes it possible to keep your friends in WhatsApp up to date easily and in a fun and simple way.” Now it is only more difficult to decide which images to share in which app.
Download WhatsApp
WhatsApp Status is now being rolled out in phases, so it may take a while until you have the function yourself. In any case, make sure to install the latest version of the app. You can do this by clicking on the link below. To use the app you need 137MB of free space and iOS 7+.