WhatsApp’s officially confirmed that the classic text-only status tool is making a comeback just a few weeks after the new Status tab was introduced. The latter has prompted a severe backlash among users who want to go back to utilizing simple sentences to indicate their current mood rather than media which disappears in 24 hours.
WhatsApp’s text status made an appearance in the Android beta version of the app recently, popping up in the About section of a person’s profile. The company has now told TechCrunch that this is the feature’s new home. The change is set to roll out to Android phones next week. iPhones will be getting it as well, though there’s no definitive timeline for this yet.
Going by the latest WhatsApp for Android beta, people just have to open up Settings and head to the About and phone number section to craft their status or choose between classic options like Busy or Available. The status will show up next to profile names when they view contacts.
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WhatsApp’s explaining away the rollback by stating that it heard feedback from consumers who missed the ability to set a persistent text-only update. However, this doesn’t mean the end of the revamped media-centric Status tab. The company’s going to continue building on the tool.
It’s a win-win situation for both text status die-hards and people who like having a bit of Snapchat in WhatsApp. The shift was meant to make the latter more sociable than before, encouraging users to regularly update their Status every 24 hours.
You can check out the text-based About status feature right now by downloading WhatsApp for Android beta via APKMirror.