WhatsApp recently dropped a new feature that is very much like Snapchat Stories. The app already has a status feature but was only limited to text and stayed for as long as you wanted it to. This time, WhatsApp updated that feature to be more Snapchat-like in that the content you share disappears after 24 hours. And by content, this means GIFs, pictures and videos can be shared as a status. The updated status feature will roll out in Europe first before the rest of the world.
Knowing that WhatsApp extends functionality of the app to a web and desktop version, will the updated status feature make it there as well? That’s a good question to ask as the app is owned by Facebook along with Instagram. Last year, Instagram launched a Stories a feature for the app but it isn’t available on the web version. However, users can install an extension to see Stories on a browser. Will this be the case with WhatsApp?
In the official blog post released to announce the new status feature, nothing was mentioned about making it available for the web and desktop clients. It seemed more geared towards the mobile version of the app. Then again, the desktop edition of WhatsApp is basically a mirror copy of the app so who knows if that will include support for the updated status feature.
The web version, on the other hand, supports almost everything the app does. However, there are a couple of features that won’t work well due to limitations with the browser.
The update to WhatsApp’s status feature coincides with the company’s eighth anniversary, which is on February 24. WhatsApp product manager Randall Safara said the new update provides users with a “novel way to share media” as well as encourages them to stay within the app.
WhatsApp is a force in the communications app market and it keeps on improving. The web version is an extension of the impressive things that app can do albeit with some limitations.
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