WhatsApp has been readying various improvements for the Status updates feature in the Updates tab. The instant messaging app is already working on a redesigned user interface featuring vertical thumbnails for Status updates, currently available to beta testers.
According to WABetaInfo, the company has started rolling out a new ranking system for Status updates to some beta testers running recent Android beta versions of the instant messaging app. WhatsApp's Status ranking system is designed to prioritize and reorder updates from specific contacts based on various factors, making them appear first on the list.
WhatsApp ranks Status updates depending on who you contact frequently, your pinned chats, and recently messaged contacts. It also gives priority to the Status updates that are about to expire. The feature is meant to figure out which contacts have a higher level of interaction, importance, immediacy, and relevance, and reorder the updates accordingly.
According to the website, all the math WhatsApp does for the ranking system relies on the information stored locally on the device, adding that the system works "autonomously" on each user's device "without external data transmission."
As a result, the feature resets every time WhatsApp is reinstalled on the device. The ranking system may work differently on companion devices as there are chances that the chat history synced across devices may not include the "full dataset needed to prioritize contacts in the exact same way."
The website notes that users may not see the timestamp of status updates within the list due to the new ranking system. WhatsApp is expected to roll out the Status ranking feature to more beta users in the coming weeks.
Apart from that, WhatsApp's latest Android beta update revealed it is working on an age verification feature prompting users to input their birth year, possibly, in response to the age verification laws passed in various regions.
Source: WABetaInfo
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