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Topics: Social Media, Technology, WhatsApp, News
Callum Jones
Topics: Social Media, Technology, WhatsApp, News
I think everyone has that one person in their contacts list they don't exactly enjoy replying to.
As a result, we can often 'air' these people for a certain period of time before we have the energy to deal with said individual.
Well, a new update being rolled out by WhatsApp is about to make that a little trickier.
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The latest addition to the messaging app lets users see which one of their pals were more recently on the app, a move WhatsApp hopes encourages people to chat more.
As per beta testing seen by WABetaInfo, the update will provide a list of people who have been active recently.
Essentially, the messaging service provider hopes you will message people in your contact list you often don't have a conversation with.
The new update can currently be found in pre-release versions of WhatsApp on iOS and Android, with a full-scale release expected in the coming weeks.
But many will be glad to hear the update is optional, meaning you can continue to hide from certain individuals as you wish.
WhatsApp will show an overall picture of who has been online recently, though these details will disappear when users try to create a new chat or a call with a contact.
"This feature provides users with a snapshot of recent online activity rather than a comprehensive list of all currently online contacts," WABetaInfo stated.
"This means that a full online status activity for every contact isn’t available, as the feature is designed to give a general overview of activity rather than a real-time status update for all contacts."
And lessening any privacy worries, people will not be able to see if a contact has been online if you have not messaged them before, or have even blocked them.
That's not all the new stuff coming to WhatsApp, with Idit Yaniv, Head of WhatsApp Design at Meta, revealing recently what's on the horizon.
The head of design has been detailing how WhatsApp has now created 'better organisational tools for messages'.
"Recently, we introduced chat filters that help you focus on and find important conversations faster. Moving the navigation bar on Android to the bottom allowed us to design filters to be at the top of the chats list, so people can quickly find the right conversations without scrolling through their full inbox," she explained.
"Now, you can select between unread and group filters with just a tap to catch up on missed messages or your favourite group chats."