Did you hate the picture status feature WhatsApp launched a few weeks ago? I did. I really thought it was pointless. So if like me, you didn’t think much of the feature and missed the old text status feature, there is good news. That silly picture status is going to become optional, and the text status feature is back.
All those of us who relied on the text status feature to announce to the world what they were feeling or doing today, this week or in life generally, liked the feature. Those of us who wanted to appear witty, clever or profound; who wanted to send out a coded message to one or more contacts also loved it; clever statuses lifted from here and there permitted us to do all this and more.
So from a status you type out, it went to the picture status that remains live for a day. Unlike being able to see a person’s status easily as you scrolled down your contact list, the picture status now had its own new tab and you had to physically check each person’s status picture (if you really were that bored on a given day, that is).
The WhatsApp developers were clearly trying to bring to WhatsApp users some popular features borrowed from Snapchat and Instagram’s stories mode. This new feature was less user friendly and more tedious. It lasted for only a day and then had to be updated again. Pressure! We could choose who could see your status – more pressure! Many did not approve and said as much on social media. As one commentator pointed out on Twitter: "what will happen to those who broke up and continued to talk through whatsapp status? What will they use now". As you can see, the problems were many!
So the text status is back and can be viewed below the profile pic and name of the person in your contact list. You can change your text status, by going to the Profile segment, in the ABOUT & PHONE NUMBER segment. Your old text statuses (the really clever ones you want to reuse) are also listed below; as before. So we can all be clever or sarcastic, or meaningful or profound or arcane or declare our affiliations as before! Many prayers were answered!
On the off chance that you were the Snapchat type who actually enjoyed the whole picture status thing; that is still available as well. Meanwhile, the company says that WhatsApp will be “continuing to build on the new Status feature that gives people fun and engaging ways to share photos, videos and GIFs with their friends and family throughout their day,".
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