WhatsApp tests notification for new statuses
The latest version of WhatsApp Beta for Android is notifying the user when a status is published. This new feature may be linked to another app test to inform you when the user is tagged in a post of this type. In addition, WhatsApp is testing a section to suggest new conversations with “forgotten” contacts.
The new status notification feature arrived in version 2.24.8.13 of WhatsApp beta for Android. However, it is not active for users. The WABetaInfo website, which specializes in the app’s news, was able to find the notification by digging through the innards of the code.
Appeal raises doubts about its operation
An unanswered question about this feature under test is about its activation. There is no information on WhatsApp about when the notification will be sent. Meta, owner of the app, uses some “summary” notifications on its social networks (Threads, Instagram and Facebook), notifying the user about some recent publications and others that have had a good reach.
In the notification shown by WABetaInfo, the text, in direct translation, reads “You have a status update not seen”. This doesn’t explain whether it’s from a post made immediately or follows the summary strategy of Meta’s other social networks.
Another option is for the notification to be sent when the user has been tagged in the status of a contact. A warning of this kind has already been seen in the WhatsApp beta. It’s expected that this feature will use the future username function for in-app accounts — which we’ve been waiting for so far.
Regardless of the means of activating this notification, it is another sign that Meta wants to make WhatsApp more of a social network and less of a messaging app/communication app. After all, notifying your friends about news and tagging or being tagged in publications are elements of Facebook and Instagram, WhatsApp’s siblings.
Another common element in Meta’s social networks is follow and friendship suggestions. And this WhatsApp Beta is also testing. In version 2.24.9.5 of the app for testing, there is a part of the conversation screen in which WhatsApp recommends starting a conversation with someone in your address book. Thus, Meta expects users to get more conversations and, consequently, screen time in the app.
The feature can have both a positive and a negative side. In the first case, it can make us get back in touch with friends we don’t talk about much. In the other, you may end up suggesting contact from someone you don’t want to see anymore.
