Once enabled, only the recipients within the selected privacy filters will be able to reshare the status updates on their own feed.
The feature might be rolled out for testing purposes to a wider audience over the coming weeks
Photo Credit: Pexels/ Anton
WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new feature for its Android app, which will give users more control over their status updates. According to a feature tracker, the Meta-owned instant messaging platform will introduce an option that allows the original author to select and manage who can reshare their status updates, once the option is enabled. WhatsApp says that when a status update is reshared, information about the original author will not be visible.
Feature tracker WABetaInfo reported that the option to control status resharing was discovered in WhatsApp Beta for Android version 2.25.27.5, which has been designated as a compatible update. The Meta Platforms-owned instant messaging client might be developing it for release in a future version of the app.
Status update resharing option on WhatsApp
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo
Based on the above screenshot shared by the feature tracker, a new Allow Sharing option has been added alongside the status update viewing options in the WhatsApp Beta for Android app. By enabling this toggle, users can let other users, who can see their status updates, also reshare them.
However, this feature is turned off by default and only works when manually turned on.
Users also have more control over who can share their status updates. As per WABetaInfo, they can limit the viewing options to exclude certain contacts from their list or share the update with only a select few people. In such cases, only the recipients within the selected privacy filters will be able to reshare the status updates on their own feed.
The feature tracker said that reshared content appears with a label at the top of the screen to avoid confusion. The original authors are notified when their status updates are reshared by others, but the recipients cannot see the personal details of the user who originally shared the status update.
WABetaInfo reported that the new option to control status update resharing is currently under development and is only available to beta testers who are registered via the Google Play Beta programme. It might be rolled out for testing purposes to a wider audience over the coming weeks.
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