WhatsApp Text Status Comes Back to iPhone as 'About': How to Get and Use It

WhatsApp has tried to curb the outrage over the removal of the text status feature by quickly bringing it back. The Facebook-owned company brought back the feature earlier this week for Android and soon after rolled it back for iPhone users as well.

The latest WhatsApp for iPhone update will get you your old text status back. All you need to do is head on over to the App Store and download the latest version of WhatsApp (v2.17.10). As the update description reads, the new text status feature is now called About. The update also brings a few other features including playing videos without downloading completely, a new moon icon for capturing better photos and videos better under low-light conditions and 3D Touch support for directly cropping an image.

After updating WhatsApp for iPhone, you'll find the new About section by tapping on Settings in WhatsApp and tapping once agin on your profile name on top. You'll find About at the bottom of the screen, most likely showing your last updated status before it was removed. You can now edit your status the way you want and be certain that it won't disappear with 24 hours. Your contact list will be able to view your status message by opening your contact, starting a new chat thread or viewing your info in a group.

Of course, the new Snapchat-like disappearing photos and videos feature is still very much present and WhatsApp has no plans to remove it any time soon. Interestingly, WhatsApp's parent company Facebook also rolled out a similar feature earlier this month for its Messenger app, called Messenger Day while Facebook-owned Instagram also got this feature last year.

Notably, Facebook has been working on a number of new features for its site and Messenger app to make it more fun and conversational. The social media giant on Friday introduced two new features for Messenger, called Message Reactions and Mentions. Facebook is also reportedly testing the ability to add GIFs to comments from services like Giphy and Tenor.