#WhatsApp #NewStatusFeature #StatusorStories?

Category: Messaging App

Industry: App Technology

Location: Global

Related to: Whatsapp; Status or Stories

Reviewer: Jia Fu Jolyn, Lee – Parsons School of Design

Company: WhatsApp

Website: Olson, Parmy. “WhatsApp Changes Everything With Its New ‘Status’ Feature” Forbes. Feb 20, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2017/02/20/whatsapp-status-snapchat-snap-stories/#653c1a144e1f

With over one billion users on the messaging service app, Whatsapp just announced that it is going to launch a new feature that mirrors Snapchat.

Whatsapp’s new Status feature will allow users to share photos, GIFs, and videos overlaid with drawings, emojis and a caption that will be visible to selected friends for 24 hours, before disappearing. Sounds familiar? That’s because it’s exactly like Snapchat’s Stories feature that made it successful back in 2014.

This huge transformation may not come as a surprise as it has already been rolled out in Instagram last year, and Facebook, which owns both Instagram and Whatsapp, is still testing it for its own mobile app. Similar to Snapchat and Instagram stories, the feature can be edited with text, emojis and finger drawings, giving users the option to share the post with their selected users. The feature might open doors for businesses as they are able to send messages to its users in an unobtrusive and useful way.

Whatsapp aims to roll out Status globally, but will take some time to ensure the feature is working well before releasing it worldwide.