WhatsApp has started testing a new feature that enables its users to share posts from their WhatsApp status on to other apps. As a part of the WhatsApp Beta Program, starting from June 26, users will start seeing a new sharing feature sitting below their status that can be used to post seamlessly to Facebook as a Story or other apps such as Instagram, Gmail or Google Photos. For those not in the know, WhatsApp Status is the messaging platform’s version of Instagram Stories that allows you to post images, texts and videos on your profile that will vanish within 24 hours.
As per a report by The Verge, WhatsApp states that there isn’t any direct link to post your status to Facebook and there is nothing to link your accounts on both services. It uses iOS and Android APIs which is the same as every other app which means data is transferred between the apps on a device. WhatsApp explains that even if you share data to another Facebook-owned service such as Instagram, WhatsApp will regard it as two separate events in Facebook’s system and will not be linked. Also, there is no way to have your WhatsApp status being automatically shared with another service. Commenting on this, WhatsApp states that this feature needs to be an active decision on the part of the user.
The report ends by stating, “WhatsApp’s new status sharing feature doesn’t do any of the data sharing that’s gotten Facebook into trouble in the past. But as Facebook moves toward allowing users from all three of its major services to message each other across a single technical backend, even seemingly innocuous features like this can risk intense scrutiny.”
