Alert to millions of WhatsApp users as 5 major changes to the app have been officially announced

WHATSAPP today launched a bunch of sparkling new features for its 2 billion users around the world.

Meta, which owns WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, has been busy rolling out a new “Status” feature on its platforms for the past week.

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Facebook is known to have had the status feature since its inception.

But it has recently landed on Instagramand today on WhatsApp.

“Status is a popular way to share fleeting updates with friends and close contacts on WhatsApp,” the company said in a blog post today.

“They disappear within 24 hours and can contain photos, videos, GIFs, text and more.”

Users can choose the audience for their status – which can be changed in their privacy settings.

Similar to Instagram’s “close friends” stories feature, WhatsApp users can make their status public or only visible to a select few.

Unlike Instagram and Facebook, users can have a voice status that allows them to record and share voice messages up to 30 seconds long.

“Voice status can be used to send more personal updates, especially if you prefer to express yourself through speaking rather than typing,” the company said.

WhatsApp has also listened to the fans and allowed users to react to the status.

“After launching Reactions last year, this was the #1 feature users wanted,” the company said.

Users can now quickly reply to any status by swiping up and tapping one of eight emojis.

Another new WhatsApp feature mirroring Instagram is status profile rings for new updates.

Users’ profile pictures are circled with a green ring when there is a new status that other users haven’t seen yet.

When users post a link to their status, a preview is automatically displayed, as is the case in a chat.

“Visual previews make your status look better and also give your contacts a better idea of ​​what the link is before they click it,” WhatsApp said.

“Just like your personal chats and calls, your WhatsApp status is protected with end-to-end encryption, so you can share it privately and securely.”

However, users must first update their app before gaining access to the new features.

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