WhatsApp released its status feature earlier this year for iOS and Android devices. The company has now rolled out the feature for the desktop version of the app too. The company was reportedly working on the feature for last three months, and it has finally launched as a part of WhatsApp Web update version 0.2.5854.
Users on WhatsApp Web will see a circular icon placed at the top next to their profile picture on the chat window. To view the status of your contacts all you need to do is just click on the circular icon. You will then be redirected to a new screen with a black background which will the status that your contacts have put up. On the left side, the screen will show the name of the people who have uploaded the status, clicking on which the status can be view. The feature works the same as what you use on the mobile app. You can also reply to status.
Like in mobile, the feature on the web also allows you to share photos, GIFs or videos with drawings, emojis, doodles and a caption that will be visible to your contact for 24 hours, before disappearing. ALSO READ: Not possible to monitor all mobile phones, WhatsApp: Manoj Sinha
Apart from that, WhatsApp is one platform that has been fidgeting and trying out new features every now and then. In the latest, the messaging platform is building its payments service on the UPI system. According to new reports, a beta version of the app has surfaced online hinting that the app might add UPI-based payment option for money transfer. The report further suggests that India is likely to be the first market where WhatsApp might launch the payment feature. The feature was spotted on WhatsApp version ’2.17.295′. Additionally, WhatsApp is also in discussions with the State Bank of India, NPCI and few other banks to frame ways to integrate their systems with the bank.
WhatsApp is also testing colored text status in beta, which is similar to Facebook. The new WhatsApp colored status feature is expected to soon roll out to Android as well as iOS users. ALSO READ: WhatsApp beta for Android gets launcher app shortcuts
WhatsApp recently announced that it has 1 billion daily active users globally, and that 55 billion messages are exchanged through its platform daily. It further revealed that over 4.5 billion photos are shared each day, and about a billion videos are exchanged daily.