When selecting contacts in the chat list, for iOS users, contacts will be marked as “Recently Online” in the chat info section; This is a newly tested feature in an attempt to improve users’ experience and interaction and allow them to discover when their contacts are active. This is a new feature that is still under development and it provides users with the time information of the last activity of the contact on the app.
The mode called “Recently Online” works as an improvement of the “Last Seen” option, providing better information about the user’s activity. While “Last Seen” only denotes the time the user last visited the app, “Recently Online” can be more detailed, including raw time when people were online. This could assist the users in a way that helps them to appreciate the right time that their contacts are most likely to be online for real time communication.
One of the issues that were brought up by the addition of this feature is privacy, which is important in WhatsApp. Members will be able to determine who sees them as ‘Recently Online’ since everybody may not need everybody on their list to see this feature. It serves to retain the user-centric approach to privacy that WhatsApp has upheld and provides more features.
To address the uniqueness, while the feature will be available to public use, for those who will want to have it turned off, similar to the disappear option of the ‘Last Seen’ status will be created. This creates flexibility that allows the users to choose from the long list of options to minimize what they do not like on the WhatsApp app..
It is the testing phase on iOS to identify all problematic issue that could arise to ensure the application is fully ready for a larger audience. It should be noted that feedbacks and suggestions of beta testers will have a heavy influence when fine-tuning it. This means the “Recently Online” tool may be extended to all WhatsApp users who are using the application on different devices in case the feature receives a positive reception.
Therefore, new “Recently Online” feature is the feature that can be considered as the wise add-on to the popular WhatsApp application which has made the usage of it more engaging and at the same time safe for users’ privacy. While still on testing for the iOS, the app has potential to enhance interactions on the platform, more responsive to user needs, to support its user base across the world.
