Facebook is undeniably one of the most used applications of the decade and the company is doling out the best of its efforts to keep it that way. Over the years, there have been different applications that also rose to fame such as Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Some of which were purchased by Facebook.
WhatsApp is a popular instant messaging application and it proved efficient to users, hence it is used worldwide. In 2014, the messaging app was purchased by the social media giant.
However, Facebook has another rival known as Snapchat and they are definitely competing with the highly entertaining application. Snapchat allows the user to capture photos through its built-in camera and they offer a wide variety of filters and emoticons.
A lot of people took a great liking to Snapchat and as a result, Snapchat photos are seen across other social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that being said, Facebook has tried to create its own Camera App to compete with the highly addictive Snapchat filters.
Needless to say, Facebook did not stop there. Recent reports claim that Facebook is now experimenting with a new Status feature through WhatsApp. "Status" will allow users to share photos and videos that are enhanced with custom elements, emojis, and filters. Moreover, the content will disappear in 24 hours after it was shared.
WhatsApp's new feature is basically a copy of Snapchat Stories according to TechCrunch. In addition, BGR India was able to spot the test feature on Friday. They found out that the Status sharing is already available only to those registered as public beta testers.
The new WhatsApp interface features a new tab called 'Status' and it is right in between the good old 'Chats' and 'Calls' tab. Although setting a status has always been a WhatsApp feature, this tab is entirely different from the usual status setting offered by the messaging app. The new Status tab allows users to share visual content which is already similar to Snapchat Stories.
It is worth mentioning that SnapChat stories offer a range of editing tools after the photo was captured by the user, thus can be edited before sharing. The output will then be shared with a caption. The same goes for WhatsApps new feature 'Status' and there will also be an expiration time for the posted content.
According to beta testers, there is now way to delete a post after it has been submitted for now. The content will be deleted automatically after 24 hours. Finally, "Status" will also include the user's WhatsApp contact information in the posts.
There is also a bit of an issue with the new adverts platform. The application needs to find a way to have ads placed without sacrificing the users' experience. This new Status channel is starting to look like a good candidate to be used as a marketing platform for businesses. The latter can share advertisements to those people connected with them.
