WhatsApp rolls out status feature to rival Snapchat

WhatsApp. The app was temporarily inaccessible in most parts of the world on Friday. PHOTO | DANNEIVA | PHOTOBAY.

WhatsApp has launched a new feature called WhatsApp Status. 

The new feature allows users to update their WhatsApp status with photos, videos and GIFs that have a 24-hour shelf life.

NEW UPDATE

On Thursday, the Facebook-owned, instant-messaging app made available the new update to its users across the globe.

Having tested it in a few western countries over the past several days, the company eventually unveiled the feature to its users via Google Play on iOS and Android.

WhatsApp announced that the new status update feature would allow users to share not just text, but sketches, photos, videos that can last up to 45 seconds and GIFs.

All these are automatically deleted after 24 hours.

SECURE

WhatsApp CEO Jam Koum said the feature is secure as it is encrypted end to end, allowing one to only share with the contacts that they wish.

“We are excited to announce that, coinciding with WhatsApp’s 8th birthday on February 24, we are re-inventing the status feature,” said  Mr Koum. 

“Starting today, we are rolling out an update to status, which allows you to share photos and videos with your friends and contacts on WhatsApp in an easy and secure way.”

The news of the new feature has been greeted with cynicism all over the world by the over one billion WhatsApp users across the globe, mostly because it bears striking similarities to the most celebrated feature of Snapchat.

SNAPCHAT'S PAIN

Snapchat runs fully on the basis of automatically deletable content.

Many users believe that this is Mark Zuckerberg’s way of forcing Snapchat out of business or putting pressure on it since it is the foremost rival with a dynamic and very popular messaging platform.

The company has been at pains to differentiate its feature from Snapchat's, saying that among other things, WhatsApp Status will allow users to upload videos that are up to 45 seconds long, longer than 10 seconds as in Snapchat.

They also claim that unlike Snapchat, WhatsApp Status will not notify you when someone takes a screenshot of your status. 

'NOTHING NEW'

WhatsApp Status is not only similar to Snapchat Stories, but it also bears great likeness to Instagram Stories, with the only difference being that there is end-to-end encryption, allowing the WhatsApp Status user to decide and limit who will be able to access their content.

Whereas reception has been fairly okay, most users are questioning the need for the feature, with others complaining that it offers nothing new, since Snapchat and Instagram Stories already offer it.