WhatsApp is running a new feature test in Ghana that repositions Status updates — the app’s 24-hour disappearing photo and video posts — to the top of the Chats tab, the first screen most users see when they open the app.
WhatsApp says it chose Ghana specifically because of the strength of the WhatsApp community here and the quality of user feedback it expects to get from Ghanaian users. For a platform that is deeply embedded in how Ghanaians communicate — from family groups to business chats — that is not a small compliment.
The feature tweak is fairly straightforward. Instead of Status updates living in their own tab, they will now appear as a tray at the top of Chats screen — similar to how Instagram surfaces Stories. The idea is to make updates harder to miss before they disappear after 24 hours, a complaint WhatsApp says it hears frequently from users.
A few things WhatsApp wants users to know:
- Only organic Status updates from your contacts will appear
- People can minimize the Status tray by swiping down, or hide any contact’s updates at any time
- Nothing changes about the privacy of personal messages, Status, and calls
This is a limited test, which means not every WhatsApp user will see it right away. Whether it rolls out more broadly will likely depend on the feedback WhatsApp collects here. Given how central WhatsApp Status is to how many Ghanaians share daily life — from traders posting their wares to families sharing moments — the results of this test could shape the product for hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
