The messaging app WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, often grabs attention for trying out new features. Recently, they’ve been testing ways to help users manage their storage, like filters. Now, they’re tinkering with the layout of the status updates section. This change is currently being tested in the beta version “2.24.10.10” for Android users, and it’s slowly rolling out to those who are beta testers. According to reports from WABetaInfo, more users will soon see this update.
In an earlier version of WhatsApp for Android (2.24.4.23), the company was working on this new layout for status updates, but it wasn’t available for testing. The updated design lets users see a preview of the status updates without actually opening them. While the status updates still appear at the top of the screen, the new layout offers a larger preview of each status update, as shown in the screenshots shared by WhatsApp trackers.
This new design makes it easier for users to quickly check out the latest status updates without having to navigate through each one individually. It also lets users see a sneak peek of the first unseen status update through a thumbnail-like preview. This update comes after some users had mixed reactions to the previous horizontal layout. It’s worth noting that this update is currently only available for beta testers and hasn’t been rolled out to everyone yet.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also working on a feature that will allow users to hide community group chats. This feature was spotted in the Android “2.24.10.13” update, but it’s still under development and isn’t available for testing yet. According to reports, users will be able to hide community group chats with a simple icon next to the group’s name. Members of hidden group chats will still be able to see them in the community view, though.
On another note, WhatsApp is testing an option to filter chats (between ‘All’, ‘Chats’, and ‘Channels’) to help users manage their storage on both Android and iOS.
