WhatsApp announces new Status features: What are they, how do they work and more – Times of India

WhatsApp is constantly working on new features to improve the app’s usability. In a bid to further enhance this experience, the Meta-owned instant messaging app has announced a slew of features for Status.
Status is one of the popular ways that allows users to share photos, videos, GIFs, text, and more contacts on WhatsApp. They disappear in 24 hours, and WhatsApp says that users’ Status is protected by end-to-end encryption allowing them to share them privately and securely.
New WhatsApp Status features
Private Audience Selector: The first feature in the list is Private Audience Selector. Not all statuses are for everyone. WhatsApp says keeping this in mind, it is now providing users with the flexibility to update their privacy settings per status so they can choose who is able to view their status.
If a user selects an audience, WhatsApp will save the most recent audience selection and use it as the default for your next status.

Voice Status: We’re introducing the ability to record and share voice messages for up to 30 seconds on WhatsApp status. Voice status can be used for sending more personal updates, especially if you feel more comfortable expressing yourself by talking rather than typing.
Status Reactions: The feature was in the news lately. It provides users with a quick and easy way to respond to their friends and family’s status updates. WhatsApp says that users wanted this feature the most, following the launch of Reactions last year.
Users can quickly reply to any status by swiping up and tapping on one of eight emojis, apart from replying with text, voice messages, stickers and more.

Status Profile Rings for New Updates: With the new status profile ring, users can quickly access status shared by their contacts. This ring will be visible around a contact’s profile picture whenever they share a status update in places including chat lists, group participant lists, and contact info.
Link Previews on Status: going forward, when a user posts a link on his/ her status, there will be a visual preview of the link content in the same way it appears when a user sends a message. “Visual previews make your statuses look better, and also give your contacts a better idea of what the link is before they click,” WhatsApp said.
WhatsApp says that these updates have started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks. WhatsApp hasn’t explicitly mentioned the platforms on which these features will be available, hence, it is assumed that the features will be rolled out to Android, iOS and the web.