WhatsApp Might Add Live Location and Status Change Notification

Prayank

Rumours have been doing rounds since late December 2016 that WhatsApp might add features to edit and recall your messages in a conversation and now others have surfaced which claim that soon you might be able to share your live location with friends and also be notified if a contact changes their status on the app.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is one of the most popular web-based messaging services worldwide currently and their last major update earlier this month which enhanced user capabilities around GIFs and sending media items in bulk.

According to the source of the leak, WhatsApp users will be able to see the status of their contacts under a new tab, which will appear alongside the Calls, Chats and Contacts tab on top of the app.

Users might receive a push notification as and when their contacts — or maybe most used contacts — change their status and will also have an option to delete their status after 24 hours.

In addition to that, WhatsApp users will also be able to track the location of their friends — with the express permission of the other user. The feature is apparently being called ‘Show my Friends’ which allows a user to reveal their location to selected friends or a group for a few minutes or indefinitely.

Above: WhatsApp for public; Below: Beta Update

The location sharing option is currently available in WhatsApp beta versions 2.17.3.28 for iOS and 2.16.399 for Android.

It’s always an easier thing to have everything at a single place, and with WhatsApp now, in addition to being able to text chat with your contacts in personal chat rooms or groups, and enjoy a voice or video call too, you might be granted added benefits to track a friend’s location or be notified when their status changes.

Security features like the end-to-end encryption, and the two-factor authentication are an added advantage to make your WhatsApp account even more secure, safeguarding against frauds.

WhatsApp currently has over 160 million users in India, which are growing at a great pace, as it’s also available in many regional languages as well.

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Prayank

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Prayank

Bike enthusiast, traveller, ManUtd follower, army brat, word-smith; Delhi University, Asian College of Journalism, Cardiff University alumnus; a journalist breathing tech these days.