Thanks to user backlash, regular text-based statuses are coming back

folarin okunola

March 16, 2017 10:22 AM

The company had hoped the picture and video stories would serve a similar function as the text-based statuses that nobody complained about, but users felt differently.

WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum.

A few weeks ago, WhatsAppreplaced its text-based in-app status with a Snapchat Stories clone, following the rest of its siblings in the Facebook family in a now played-out cloning of Snapchat's core feature.

That copying of Snapchat's defining feature worked for Instagram but apparently not so much for WhatsApp since it has received a lot of backlash from users who do not care for the new Image and video-based clone.

That's why the company is rethinking that move and bringing back the normal availability status through the About section of its app, Techcrunch reports.

Similar to what you would find on Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook's regular app, WhatsApp's version of Snapchat Stories lets you post pictures and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

ALSO READ: Yet another Facebook product has cloned Snapchat's Stories format

The company had hoped the picture and video stories would serve a similar function as the text-based statuses that nobody complained about, but users felt differently. The company said the new About Status “will appear next to profile names anytime you view contacts, such as when creating a new chat or looking at Group info.”

This is probably a good lesson about sticking to the things users like about your app instead of chasing after the current popular thing that your competitors are going for.

According to a statement WhatsApp gave to Techcrunch, the new (or not so new) About Status will be rolling to Android users in the next week while iOS users will get it "soon."

folarin okunola