After the purchase of the instant messenger app by Facebook, the app has come up with various new updates in its user interface.
WhatsApp’s new feature was leaked
Any new feature that is been tested by WhatsApp is soon leaked to the public by the most famous platform WABetaInfo. All the beta version features and the details are informed on their Twitter page. Similarly, the status feature was announced to the public by the WABetaInfo before the official announcement made by the tech company.
The new status feature was released by the company on February 24th, 2017 on the eightieth birthday of WhatsApp. Like all other features that were released by the company, the users were excited to check out the new feature and started updating their instant messenger app. When some of the users were happy about the feature, most of the users of the app criticized the new status feature and wanted the older version of the status option.
Later after the failure of the new feature, the instant messenger team brought back the old version of the status feature with a twist. The spokesperson from WhatsApp said that users missed the ability to set text status in their profile, so the company has come up with a new idea by integrating the status feature into the About section in the Settings option. Therefore the users can view the status next to the profile name when they view the contact, like looking for the group info or while creating a new chat.
Status update for Android
The Android users can roll back to the older version of the status update by upgrading the instant messenger app through the Google Play Store. After the upgrading process completes, the users can click on the dot icon that appears at the top right corner of the instant messenger interface.
By clicking on the icon, the users can see the drop-down menu from which they have to choose the ‘Settings’ option. The option has a list of other tabs from which the users must click on the ‘About and Phone number’ option. Here the users can set the text status message as before and it looks similar to the previous version that has all the other status options like the At school, Busy, Available, Urgent call only, At a movie and other options. There are no changes in the interface of the old status version and there are no changes made in the use of the option. Also, like the new status feature that disappears after 24 hours, this text status feature does not disappear after twenty-four hours.
Status update for iOs
The user can log in to the App Store to upgrade their older version of the status feature because many people opposed the new feature. The latest version 2.17.10 rolls back the text status messages that are updated in the profile. The feature is added to the ‘About’ option from the settings session in the WhatsApp interface, the user can get to the older version simply by selecting the status feature from the customized status message option.
Though the old version is back, it does not mean that the new status feature will be removed from the interface. Both the old and new version of the WhatsApp feature is available in the interface. However, the contacts tab that was available in the earlier version is not rolled back, so to view the status of the other users in the contacts- either user must start a conversation or they have to see through the group information.
Status update with cool features
The new status feature is similar to the Stories in the Instagram and Snapchat and it comes with the reply option and mutes and unmutes notification.
The new status feature allows the users to added different formats of status messages, unlike the older version which allows only text status messages. But, now the user can add photos, videos, GIFs as the status message and all the messages disappear after twenty-four hours. The status message comes as a separate tab next to the chats and calls tab in the interface, while the contacts option is moved to the top right corner of the screen. And the users can view the status messages of the others by viewing the status tab and the users can receive notification about the status update of the other users in the contacts list by using the mute and unmute option.
And when the user selects the mute option, they will not be able to view the status message of the other users in the contacts list and they will not receive any notification when other users modify their status message.
It is found that all the Facebook-owned applications are similar to the ‘Stories ‘ feature, the Messenger app of Facebook comes with a new feature called the Messenger Day and has rolled out the option in many countries and is expected to hit worldwide. The ‘stories’ feature in Instagram is accessed by more than one hundred and fifty million users and is taken out by Snapchat because of the traffic. However, the feature did not work out well for WhatsApp and so the old version rolled back.
Non-stop updates
When there was confusion with the status message feature, WhatsApp is adding the GIF support to the app keyboard of Google, called the Gboard. The GIF gallery is available for the Android users for more than two months, but the users were unable to search for the GIFs when they choose to enter the emojis from the menu. So the modifications were done and so the beta version supports the Gboard.
The app keeps introducing new features in recent years with the call feature, sending different formats of files and sharing location with others and viewing other user’s location and so on. The video chat and voice mail features were popular among the users and many people tried out the feature and were amazed by the technology that made them closer to their loved ones, despite the long distance. And the location sharing feature made it easy to identify the location of the friends and made travelling even more exciting.
The recent update before the status notification was the edit and revoke message feature that is an amazing option by the app. At times we happen to send the messages wrongly to some other user and even if we erase it from our end, it might not be discarded from the recipient’s end. But now the new update in the instant messenger platform helps the users to delete or edit the messages before the recipient reads the text. And the messages are erased from the sender and receiver’s end. This new feature is one of the unique features of the app. Similarly, the user can send revoke messages t the other users when they are unable to communicate with them.
With different instant messenger apps available in the market, each one of them is introducing new features in their messaging interface that will help them to retain the existing app users and also attract new participants into the messenger platform.
HEY ! I’m Nil (Founder of OnlineDrifts.com), Digital Marketer, Affiliate Marketer and a blogger writing about blogging tips, SEO, Tech Tips etc.
