WhatsApp New Feature: Amidst controversies surrounding its username feature, WhatsApp is working on a new "green dot" feature. It may be rolled out to iPhone users first.

WhatsApp New Feature: While facing challenges in India regarding its username feature, WhatsApp is preparing to launch another new feature. This promises to be a simple yet highly useful addition. According to reports, WhatsApp is developing a feature that will let users see which of their contacts are currently online. This feature already exists on other Meta platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, where a green dot appears next to the names of active users. Now, this feature could be rolled out on WhatsApp as well.

No need to open the chat

With this feature, users won't need to open a specific chat to check if a contact is online. They will see a green dot beneath the contact's profile picture, indicating that the person is currently active on the app. The absence of the dot means the person is not active. However, initially, this feature will only appear on the "Contact Info" page—the screen that opens when you tap on someone's profile photo. It is expected that the feature might later be extended to the chat list or conversation screen.

What about privacy?

The introduction of the green dot feature will not compromise privacy. Users will retain the option to show or hide their status, just as they do now. If you do not want others to see when you are online, you can hide this status in the settings. It will function exactly like the current online status indicator: if your status is visible, the green dot will appear; if you have disabled the status, the green dot will also be hidden in accordance with that setting.

New feature coming to both Android and iPhone

It is worth noting that this feature was first spotted on Android, and testing has now begun on the iPhone as well. This suggests that the feature could be rolled out in the coming weeks. It is expected to become available to iPhone users soon; however, the company has not yet made any official announcement regarding this.