WhatsApp is edging its way beyond being a simple chat app, and moving closer to being a social network, with an update that shows who has been “recently online”, a feature that’s designed to encourage people to chat.
While WhatsApp currently offers “online” and “last seen” information at the top of each individual chat bar, we could soon be able to see which of our contacts has been “recently online.”
According to feature tracking website WABetaInfo, WhatsApp’s latest update will allow users to access a new feature within their contacts lists to see who was recently online, including those of their contacts they are yet to chat with.
Although the feature is currently only available to a few beta testers, it is reportedly being pushed out over the coming weeks. After initially being trialled on Android, the update will be extended to iOS users, according to a beta version of the app WABetaInfo tested. Importantly, the more privacy-conscious (or people-adverse) amongst us who have disabled their “last seen” and “online” status option won’t be available in the “recently online” list.
As WABetaInfo explains, the move comes as part of WhatsApp’s broader push to get users to start new conversations with one another, with the feature suggesting contacts to chat with. In recent years, Meta has broadened out the chat app’s features with WhatsApp Channels, Instagram Stories-inspired Statuses, and now availability markers to make it look and act more like a social network.
There’s also the recent update to its Communities tool, which Meta says adds new ways for people to stay in touch with their neighbourhood, school groups and fellow hobbyists. Anyone can now create an event in WhatsApp, where the RSVP list is known to the whole group, with attendees getting notifications when the event is getting close.
Meanwhile, replies are also coming to Announcement Groups, making Communities a little more interactive between admin and members. Meta says that the replies are grouped together and minimized—you will have to go digging in to read them, and notifications will be muted.
