WhatsApp testing feature to upload media to status while sending it to individual users

WhatsApp Status Update: Instant messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly testing the ability to upload a photo or a video as Status update when sending it to a recipient in a chat. This could be an extension to the option to allow users to edit the recipients of media content before it is sent in the chat – an update that was seemingly in testing earlier this month. As per reports, the update is being tested for both Android and iOS, but no timeline for the same has been finalised yet, it seems.

The feature was first reported by WhatsApp tracker WABetaInfo. As per the report, it seems like when a user would be selecting the recipient for sharing any media (image or video), they would also get the option to share it in Status. This way, it would be easier for users to share the media in the Status when sending it to some contacts individually.

WABetaInfo shared a screenshot from the Android beta version of the update, which suggests that the change in the works for the Android, and the tracker added that the same update would also be added to a future beta version of WhatsApp for iOS.

While not much is known about the feature yet, it does seem like something that Snapchat offers (or at least used to offer), where one image could be sent to individual users in their chat as well as uploaded as a status update at the same time. However, the difference is that in Snapchat, the main feature was status update and sending it to users individually was an extension, while in WhatsApp, it seems to be the opposite, with the main feature being sending the media to multiple individual chats and adding it to Status being an extension.