Meta has announced the impending addition of a Close Friends feature to WhatsApp Status, a function currently utilized by 1.5 billion users daily worldwide. This development mirrors a similar feature long established on Instagram, another Meta platform.
WhatsApp Status, akin to Instagram Stories, allows users to post photos and videos that automatically disappear after a 24-hour period. The introduction of the Close Friends option aims to provide WhatsApp users with more granular control over their status visibility, similar to Instagram’s existing functionality.
Currently, WhatsApp Status offers three primary visibility settings. The first, “My Contacts,” shares the status update with the user’s entire contact list. The second, “My Contacts Except…,” allows users to exclude specific contacts from seeing their status. The third, “Only Share With…,” restricts visibility to a pre-selected group of contacts.
Many WhatsApp users have been using the “Only Share With…” setting as a workaround to create a de facto close friends list. However, the new Close Friends feature will offer a dedicated and distinct list, augmenting the existing “Only Share With…” option and providing increased flexibility.
According to WABetaInfo, the Close Friends list can be configured through the privacy settings screen within the latest TestFlight release. This allows users to curate a specific group of contacts with whom they wish to share more personal or exclusive status updates.
The functionality will provide users with a choice during status creation: to share the update with their entire contact list or to restrict it solely to their Close Friends group. This dual option provides greater control over audience selection for each individual status update.
Status updates shared with the Close Friends group will be visually differentiated by a distinct colored ring surrounding the update. This visual cue will indicate to recipients that the status was shared exclusively with a select group of friends, rather than a broader audience.
The Close Friends list will remain private, mirroring the functionality on Instagram. Users will not receive notifications if they are added to or removed from a Close Friends list, ensuring a degree of privacy and discretion.
