WhatsApp will make it easier to share private images and videos with a smaller list of friends, with a future update.
WhatsApp recently added a new AI-powered rewriting tool for iOS users
Photo Credit: Pexels/Anton
WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that could allow users to post Status updates specifically for their “close friends” on iOS. Users will see a new option to add the contacts of their choice to a list of close friends. WhatsApp currently lets users share Status updates with all their contacts by default, or two other audience options. The ability to select close friends was spotted by a feature tracker and it appears similar to Instagram's Close Friends stories feature.
WABetaInfo, a feature tracker, has revealed in a post that the instant messaging service is working to add a new option for Status updates on iOS. This feature will reportedly let users post Status updates that will only be visible to a list of “Close Friends”. The tracker claims that the feature was spotted under development on WhatsApp beta for iOS 25.23.10.80.
A screenshot, which shows the Status updates audience menu with a new Close friends option, was shared by the feature tracker. Users will be able to add specific contacts as their close friends, according to WABetaInfo.
Currently, WhatsApp allows users to share their Status updates with all their contacts by default. They also have the option to select contacts of their choice who they want to exclude from viewing their Status (effectively blacklisting them), or select the contacts with whom they wish to share it exclusively.
However, with the new option, WhatsApp users will reportedly be able to select a few “close friends”, with whom their Status will be shared. This might come in handy when one wishes to share some stories with a specific group of contacts, and while the rest of their contacts will still be able to see other Status updates.
The feature is similar to how Instagram lets users share stories with their followers. The social media app already allows people to create a list of ‘Close Friends' with whom specific stories are shared.
Just like Instagram stories, the new Close friends Status updates on WhatsApp will also display an indicator to make them visually distinguishable. On Instagram, these stories appear with a Green ring around them. On top of this, managing the Close Friends list is meant to be discreet, as per WABetaInfo. If a user adds or removes a contact from the list, the app will not notify others.
Users will only be able to see Status updates which will be posted after the change has been made, and not the ones that are already uploaded, according to the feature tracker. WhatsApp Status updates are temporary and disappear after 24 hours, and this will also apply to updates shared with close friends.
The new feature was spotted in development a few days after the instant messaging service started rolling out an AI-enabled tool for rewriting text for different tones and clarity. WhatsApp's AI assistant, for iOS users, offers suggestions for improvement, built on top of Private Processing technology.
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