WhatsApp has debuted a new Status account, which will be used to broadcast new features and updates rolled out on the messaging app.
The app started sending Status updates to Android users today. I noticed the company’s official status atop of updates from my contacts after opening the app this morning.
The first update provided via the feature is the app’s commitment to user privacy. WhatsApp clarified that it couldn’t read or listen to users’ conversations because it leverages end-to-end encryption technology.
Check the platform’s four-part update in the pictures below:
The use of the platform’s Status feature is timely. It helps WhatsApp battle misinformation, which has arguably been at the forefront of mass migration to alternative platforms like Telegram and Signal.
WhatsApp’s controversial incoming privacy policy update, which many have misinterpreted, has led to displeasure and uproar among its users who have been keen to look for alternatives. (Telegram surpassed the 500 million active user mark, and Signal is flying high on app stores in dozens of countries, as a result.)
The app promised to do a lot more to fight misinformation around its privacy policy changes. It said it would “go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15.”
Sending Status updates seem like a solution the company has opted for, to reach its two billion-plus users personally, considering its popularity. As of 2019, over half a billion WhatsApp users used the Status feature, according to Statista.
The feature allows users to share ephemeral text, photo, video, and GIF updates that disappear in 24 hours.
WhatsApp has recently pushed back its deadline to May over the uproar, giving users more time to understand the new privacy policy. It also clarified that it would not ban or delete user accounts of those who decide not to accept the new policy by February 8.
“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8,” the company said at the time.
All the new changes follow a controversial move by the company earlier this month.
In a new in-app notification sent to its users at the beginning of the month, WhatsApp said it would give thousands of businesses an option to store their messages on Facebook’s cloud, a product by its parent company. In return, it said it might use that data for advertising purposes.
At the time, it mandated that users must accept the new Terms of Service to continue using the app. However, the same didn’t apply to the EU region. The preferential treatment has landed the platform in trouble in its most lucrative market, India.
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