They may go unnoticed by you, but not only do they exist, there are also contacts that use them. And they will go to more: WhatsApp Statuses aim to be ubiquitous in the app. As anticipated by the latest beta, the States will appear in the conversation window and even in private chats; the same way they do on Instagram, with a halo around the icon.
They have been with us since 2018 and came as one of Facebook’s offensives against its most marked rival at that time, Snapchat. Stories landed on Instagram and became States on WhatsApp, a feature that was intended to offer a ephemeral conversation wall around what anyone would like to share. And yes, it is true that WhatsApp States are used, but they are not by far what attracts the most about the application. It just needs some publicity.
You will know if someone has uploaded a State
Appearance of the avatars with States pending to visualize. Image from WaBetaInfo
Until now the States are somewhat hidden in the application since they do not appear in the chat window, the area where we spend the most time within the application. It is true that your section can be seen in the upper tabs, but they are not prominent enough for the eye to fixate on. If you publish a new Status, it is most likely that it will not be displayed by the majority of contacts.
Knowing that WhatsApp has not given too much care to its most ephemeral section, the company has been fine-tuning a new behavior of the States for a few versions. The novelty is not yet available since it is at the code level, but WaBetaInfo discovered both its way of working and its appearance. In a nutshell: the behavior of the new United States notice it is very similar to how Instagram manages this function.
Since WhatsApp chats have an avatar associated with the contact name, the company is testing a colored ring around the icon in order to warn that said user uploaded a State. Just like on Instagram, clicking on the round thumbnail would open the States of that person; thus allowing the content to be reproduced without strictly accessing the States area.
We do not know when WhatsApp will begin to give more presence to the States within the application. Based on the advanced aspect of the functionality, we don’t think there’s much left for it. Currently it can only be tested by modifying the application code.
Via | WaBetaInfo
