This New Snapchat-Like Feature Will Change Your WhatsApp Experience Forever
Introducing, WhatsApp Status.
By John Lim — 21 Feb 2017, 05:22 PM
In its ongoing effort to "destroy" Snapchat, Facebook has overhauled WhatsApp's status feature with an option to share photos and videos
Instead of the boring "Hey there, I'm using WhatsApp" that most people have by default or putting something else they rarely change, the app wants people to update their WhatsApp Status multiple times a day.
The popular messaging app announced the launch of "Status", a new feature that basically identical to the "Stories" feature in Snapchat
The new feature - which is currently being rolled out in stages - will let users share photos, GIFs or video overlaid with emojis, drawings and stickers. The "Status" will only be visible to friends for 24 hours, before disappearing.
Through the new Status tab, you'll be able to view the updates posted by your contacts and reply to them
The team at WhatsApp assured that any shared content in the Status tab is “end-to-end encrypted”, which may attract more users who are concerned about security.
WhatsApp is launching Status to celebrate its eighth anniversary.
This move comes as no surprise since another Facebook-owned app, Instagram, rolled out Stories last year
It has worked pretty well so far for Instagram. Within four months of launching, 150 million people were using Instagram stories every day - about the same amount that use Snapchat.