WhatsApp released its first major update in 2023. This update brings five new features, all of which are specific to WhatsApp Status, one of which is the option to upload a voice message as a status.
WhatsApp Status is ephemeral content that can disappear automatically after 24 hours, much like Instagram Stories. Users can share various types of content via Status, including photos, videos, GIFs, text, and more.
Now WhatsApp users can also share one more type of content via Status, namely audio. Through the Voice Status feature, WhatsApp users can share voice messages that are up to 30 seconds long.
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To make voice status, it's easy. Users simply go to the Status tab, then tap the Compose button with a pencil icon, then press and hold the microphone button on the screen.
"Voice status can be used to share more personalized updates, especially if you feel more comfortable expressing yourself by speaking rather than typing," WhatsApp said in an official statement we received, Tuesday (7/2/2023).
Apart from that, WhatsApp users can also change the privacy settings in each status. Before this feature was available, WhatsApp users had to change it manually via privacy settings. Now users are free to choose who can see their status directly when creating a new status.
Users can set status privacy by tapping the 'Status (Contacts)' button when creating a new Status. The limit options are the same as other WhatsApp privacy settings namely 'My contacts', 'My contacts except...', and 'Share only with...'.
WhatsApp also released a feature that allows users to send status reactions in the form of emojis. According to WhatsApp, this is the number one feature most requested by users after the launch of the Reactions feature last year.
"Now, you can easily reply to any status by swiping up and tapping on one of eight emoji. Of course, you can still reply to a status using text, voice messages, stickers and many others," explained WhatsApp.
WhatsApp also released a new feature so users don't miss statuses made by loved ones. This feature is a circle on a contact's profile photo that will appear when the contact shares a new status, much like in Instagram Stories. These circles will appear in the chat list, group members list, and contact info.
Finally, WhatsApp users also get a new feature that will display a preview of the link they share on Status, just like the preview of the link sent via chat. With this feature, users can provide a visual display for links shared via Status.
These five new features are gradually rolling out to all WhatsApp users worldwide and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks. If you haven't received this update yet, please be patient.