What’s happened? For those who’ve used WhatsApp from the beginning, you might remember the original “About” feature, as it was one of the first ways to share a short update about what you were doing. Now, About is back and revamped for mobile users. You can spot it easily in chats and on your profile; just look for the bubble at the top of a one-to-one chat.
- You can tap someone’s About to reply directly instead of starting a new chat.
- By default, a new About update expires after 24 hours, but you can set it to last shorter or longer via Settings.
- You can also control who sees your About (contacts only or everyone) via privacy settings.
- Roll-out begins this week on Android and iOS for all users.
This is important because: If you’ve ever opened a chat and thought, “Why aren’t they replying?”, About now gives you a simple way to share a short, visible update.
- The improved visibility means fewer missed cues and better context in conversations.
- While WhatsApp’s revived About feature works in a similar way to Instagram Notes, it’s simpler and text-focused.
- Instagram lets users add extras like music snippets and map locations to their Notes, which aren’t available in WhatsApp’s About just yet, making it a more stripped-back, practical update for now.
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Why should I care? For regular WhatsApp users, this updated About feature gives you a simple tool to say “what’s up” without creating a full Status or having long chats.
- Want to signal you’re busy, working, or travelling? A quick About note with emoji now stands out to contacts.
- You don’t need to send a message or photo; a short phrase can let people know your status at a glance.
- WhatsApp has also been working on other upgrades lately, including the ability to connect with users across other messaging apps, view all recently shared media in one place, and bring a game-changing update to iPhone users.
