WhatsApp has made a major U-turn after users complained about a minor app change. WhatsApp has reverted a tiny design change that had left users “outraged” as the Meta-owned messaging app had changed the “online” and “typing” indicators.
“WhatsApp changed online status from online to offline and sent me to the West….why does this upset me so much,” posted one Twitter/X user, while a second asked, “Why does this upset me so much?” A third called the change and shakeup “gross.”
WhatsApp has told The Independent that the change was a test with a limited number of users – and that it will be rolled back. The change resulted in the status under contacts’ names in individual chats being changed from “online” or “typing” to “Online” or “typing” with a capital letter.
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“WhatsApp’s decision to introduce capital letters and change online to online, typing to typing, etc. has provoked me much more than I expected,” wrote one. He added: “Honestly, I have no idea why I dislike it so much, but it is and I feel the need to bring it to light.”
“Whichever party lowercases ‘online’ and ‘typing’ on WhatsApp gets my vote,” wrote another. The Independent reported: “In conversations on the app, users can see information about the status of the person they are speaking to. It will show when they are ‘online’ or if they are ‘typing’…”
“Until recently, these messages did not contain any capital letters. But in recent days, some users have noticed that the initial letters of these messages have been replaced with capital letters.” The change, which applied to both the Android and iOS versions of the app, though not all, sparked a major backlash.
Another said: “Has anyone else noticed that WhatsApp changed the typing and online part at the top and made it a capital letter?! This makes my eyes twitch.”
