WhatsApp users will experience few changes as the app is likely to introduce new updates that will stop the status and chat backup feature. Here is an article that will give a glimpse of the update and its new features!
What’s the backup feature?
WABetaInfo, a website that tracks new features on the platform’s beta versions, reports that WhatsApp will stop backing up status updates to save space while backing up users’ chat history. WhatsApp always stored back-ups for users in the device’s local storage and Google drive. However, this change is introduced due to storage restrictions caused by back-ups, mostly on local devices of users because Google continues to provide unlimited storage space on Google Drive for backing up WhatsApp chat history and so, storage space shouldn’t be a concern at all.
Few users tend to post a lot of videos as status updates, and this eventually increases the size of the back-ups. Providing the option to stop updating backups will save a substantial amount of data for the users. This change of excluding status updates from back-ups on Apple iOS devices has been initiated to save space in the iCloud.
WhatsApp status update
The current belief is that WhatsApp conversations are ever-lasting and liable, whether phone data is wiped or the device is changed (unless the switch is from Android to iOS or vice versa), WhatsApp users can never truly lose their chats – ever. The reason for this is the feature called chat backup, which essentially saves all the data, including chats, shared media, and even your status updates on Google Cloud (for Android) or iCloud (for iPhone users).
Now, reports show that the Android-based app will stop saving WhatsApp status updates in chat backups! WhatsApp plans to stop backing up the status updates on Android because few users tend to post a lot of videos as status updates, and this eventually increases the size of the back-ups. Providing the option to stop updating backups will help users save a substantial amount of space.
WhatsApp also officially announced the high-in-demand features such as disappearing mode, multiple-device support, and a dedicated version of the app for the Apple iPad.
Multiple device support
Currently, WhatsApp users can use WhatsApp Web only on a separate device, while the primary device is connected to the internet all the time during access. The new multiple device support will introduce features to use four separate devices without the need for the primary device to be connected to the internet or even to be switched on.
New disappearing mode
When the new message disappearing mode is turned on, all messages being sent will disappear within a stipulated period. As of now, the users need to activate disappearing mode within individual chats, but eventually, WhatsApp will borrow a feature similar to Snapchat — the ‘View Once’ feature. As the name suggests, such media or messages will only be viewed once and then deleted.
All the above-mentioned features were confirmed by Facebook’s Chief Mark Zuckerberg and WhatsApp CEO, Will Cathcart. The features are expected to be released in the coming months.
Image Credits – Alok Sharma from Pexels
