Understanding WhatsApp's Close Friends feature, similar to Instagram Stories

Do you often hesitate to post a status on WhatsApp because you worry about it being seen by your boss, distant family, or less-close colleagues? This privacy issue is now addressed. WhatsApp has introduced a feature very similar to Instagram’s Close Friends, allowing users to share moments only with a circle of trusted people.

The feature is a major step for WhatsApp in enhancing its users’ personal experience. With this feature, you no longer need to manually adjust privacy settings every time you want to post a photo or video that’s more private.

Technically, the feature is an evolution of the existing status privacy controls. If in the past users had to go into quite deep settings to choose who could see their status, WhatsApp now simplifies the process with the label ‘Orang Terdekat’ or quicker list options during the upload process.

Just like Instagram, when you share a status with this audience list, only those included can view your post. This provides greater safety for users who want to stay active without broadcasting their personal life to all contacts in their address book.

While the interface is continually updated, here are the general steps to enable audience restrictions so it works like Close Friends:

Based on monitoring by MI-Studio, this feature is rolled out gradually. If you don’t see the instant audience selection option on the upload screen, ensure your WhatsApp application is updated to the latest version via Play Store or App Store.

The presence of this feature proves WhatsApp is becoming more serious about transforming from a mere instant messaging app into a more private social platform. For those who are keen on digital footprints, this WhatsApp Close Friends feature is must-try.