I don’t like the New WhatsApp Update (WhatsApp Status) and this is why
Another WhatsApp Update! It has been said countless times that “Change is a Constant” and we should expect it, whether positive or negative. WhatsApp has been one of the best Instant Messaging (IM) apps in a very long time and it has kept this position by constantly changing and offering the best services for a very small charge and more recently, even for free.
Features such as group chats, end to end encryption, voice and video calling and two step verification have all been necessary updates to make the application relevant. Is the addition of the new Status feature really relevant? I don’t think so.
To many of its users, WhatsApp is a fundamental IM app – and that’s all they want it to be. Personally, it’s frustrating each minute I pick up my device, launch WhatsApp and see that Status thing. I simply don’t like it and I am thinking of reverting to an earlier version of the app. Well, the feature was not an opt-in and so I may have to cope it with sooner. I may not be a fan of the status feature right now, but in reality, what I don’t like is the new overall update to the app.
Why I don’t like the Whatsapp Update
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Old Status is gone!
Yeah! If you haven’t realized, old status is gone. You can’t write those one liner text emoji updates there anymore to let people know what you have been up to. Even more recently, most people have used the old status as a way to advertise their goods and services; and in just one update its gone? For most people – even those who enjoy the new status, it would be great to have the old status back. It has been rumored to come back in a new update as “tagline”. I can’t wait for that.
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Mobile Data Usage
When you are not on Wi-Fi all you think about is “Mobile Data”. For Instagram and Snapchat, there is a built in mechanism, which users can use to reduce the amount of data they use in the apps. You can read about that here – How to use less data on Instagram and Snapchat. However, WhatsApp does not have this for their Status. This means you are likely to use 5X more data on WhatsApp if you are going to frequent the status feature. What’s worse in this case is that once you start viewing a status, the next status in line starts loading and plays automatically. Ahba! WhatsApp should have included mobile data controls for their status feature and I expect to see that in subsequent updates. Until then, sorry.
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Where are my contacts?
At first glance, it is difficult to even send a message to a new contact, because that functionality has been “revamped”. You will have to tap the bottom right green floating bar to access your contacts, and there are no statuses attached to them. Well, status now are media files. I loved to be able to scroll through my contacts and snoop, reading status and checking profile photos every now and then. Thanks to this Update, I can’t enjoy that anymore.
There are other reasons why I don’t like this update, but which may be able to control. One of these is the privacy settings. Well, I don’t expect all of my contacts to be seeing my updates, If I am going to be using it like I use snapchat. This could get a lot of people into trouble. Most people won’t check those privacy settings and as it is in every social media app (I can’t refer to WhatsApp as a mere IM anymore), privacy is key.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t see status from me. Just know this – I don’t like it.
Have you tried the status feature yet? Any reason why you like or hate it? Let’s hear you in the comments section below.
