Testing status in the WhatsApp Chat tab -

We wanted to let you know about a feature test in Ghana that might be of interest to your readers. WhatsApp is trying out a new placement for Status updates, showing them at the top of the chats tab.

Status is used by hundreds of millions every day, and we often hear that people miss statuses from their contacts.

We’re running this small, limited test to see if making it more visible will help people catch updates before they disappear in 24 hours.

We’re testing this with a number of people in Ghana because of the strong WhatsAppcommunity here and the quality of feedback we expect to receive from our users.

A few things worth noting:

● This shows organic Status updates from your contacts only

● People can minimize the Status tray by swiping down, or hide any contact’s updates at any time

● Nothing changes about the privacy of personal messages, Status, and calls

Here’s a visual of what the experience looks like: