It’s clear that “Stories,” the feature Snapchat is most well-known for, is not just a “Snapchat thing.” After Instagram added its own Stories earlier this year, we have also heard that Facebook would be integrating a similar camera feature into its flagship app. Now, another Facebook company, WhatsApp, is testing it’s own version.
The new feature is called Status, and it adds a separate tab where you share media with your connections – either groups of them or single particular friends. It’s starting to appear on the most recent beta of the app. To make it work however, you will need to root or jailbreak your device. The idea is simple. You take pictures or record short videos, and you can then add emojis, text and more on top of these.
The difference from Snapchat is that you can’t control how long they appear to the person you sent them to. Also, you can trim videos just like in Snapchat, but you cannot delete something that has been sent. These messages should appear for around 24 hours though. Status is not to be confused with your status on the app. It’s a totally different thing. Status updates are simply notes to tell people if you are available or not.
It is not clear when or even if Status will be available to all, but if it does, it’s just one more attack on Snapchat‘s dominance in its space.
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Image source: The Next Web