Instagram introduced the Close Friends feature for Instagram Stories back in November 2018, and last September, we learned that WhatsApp was developing that same feature for its users. Now we’ve learnt that WhatsApp is also working on a Custom Lists feature for status updates, giving its users more privacy control.
This revelation comes from the folks at WABetaInfo, who discovered this under-development Custom Lists feature in beta version 2.26.5.11 of WhatsApp for Android. As the name suggests, Custom Lists allows WhatsApp users to create lists for different audiences who can see their status updates. For instance, you can create a list that includes only your family members, while another has people for your professional network. It’s similar to the custom privacy control Facebook offers.
WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp users can select an emoji and a name for their custom lists, and any changes to a list only take effect when you post a new status update. That means if you remove a contact from your custom list after posting a status update for that list, that contact will continue to see the existing update, but not the new ones.
WABetaInfo also shared a screenshot (included below) showing the Close Friends option alongside the three other status privacy options currently available to WhatsApp users.
Neither the Close Friends nor the Custom Lists feature is available to WhatsApp users right now, including those enrolled in the beta program, so we’ll just have to wait for their rollout.
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