WhatsApp now allows voice notes to be posted as statuses, meaning up to 30 seconds of recordings that a person’s contacts can hear. These voice notes will disappear after 24 hours and are the latest in what can be shared via the statuses feature.
Status is a popular way to share ephemeral updates with friends and close contacts on WhatsApp. They disappear after 24 hours and can include photos, videos, GIFs, text and more. Like your private chats and calls, your WhatsApp status is protected with end-to-end encryption so you can share privately and securely.
Choose a private audience
Every status a user shares may not always be appropriate for all the contacts on their list. The company provides the flexibility to update the privacy settings of each status so that you can choose who sees the status each time it is updated. The most recent audience selection will be saved and used by default for the next status.
Status reactions
Added status reactions to provide a quick and easy way to respond to status updates from everyone in close contacts. This was the number 1 feature users wanted after Reactions launched last year. Now one can quickly reply to any status by swiping up and tapping one of the eight emoji. Of course, you can still reply to a status with a text, voice message, stickers and more.
Status profile rings for new updates
With the new status profile ring, you’ll never miss a status from a loved one. This ring will be present around each contact’s profile picture when they share a status update. It will be visible in chat lists, group participant lists, and contact information.
Views of connections in status
Now when a link is posted to your status, you will automatically see a visual preview of the link’s content, just like when you send a message. The previews make statuses look better, and also give contacts a better idea of what the link is before they click.
These updates have started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
In addition to this, WhatsApp is upgrading statuses by allowing status reactions, just as the company launched message reactions last year.
