A new WhatsApp custom status lists is coming to your smartphone soon. This update is primarily concerned with privacy and enhanced control. As per the recent changes, WhatsApp is currently developing a feature whereby you are allowed to control who views your status updates. To date, the user could only make a few selections, such as sharing with everyone or with a few of them. However, with this new feature,e things will be more personal and flexible.
In this article, we will discuss that WhatsApp is also testing a “Close Friends” option, which will work similarly.
Also read: Anthropic Launchs Claude Design to Turn Ideas Into Visuals Without Design Skills
What is the Custom Status Lists Feature in WhatsApp?
WhatsApp custom status lists are a new privacy feature that allows you to create various categories in which you can share your status. As an illustration, you can create individual lists such as family, office friends, or close friends. Once you have made these lists, you have the option of which of these lists your status will be displayed on. This implies that you do not have to keep on altering settings. Additionally, every list will be named and even emojiized, which will be easier to recognize. For now, this feature is still under development, but it clearly shows that WhatsApp is focusing more on user privacy and control.
How the Close Friend Status Option Will Work.
WhatsApp is also introducing a Close Friends feature, along with custom lists. This is included in the WhatsApp custom status lists. This feature will help you choose a few individuals and only share your status with them. An option to share with a list of close friends will be available when you post a status. It will also have a special visual indicator, such as a colored ring of a different color around your profile picture. This will demonstrate that only a few people will share the status. Also, your contacts will not be notified about whether they are included or excluded from your list, and this will keep everything confidential.

The reasons why this feature is essential to users.
The main reason behind WhatsApp custom status lists is to give better privacy control. A lot of users are afraid to make personal updates due to the fear that they are going to be viewed by everyone. With this feature, you can share your personal moments only with selected people. To illustrate, you can only share pictures of your family with family members or only share casual updates with friends. It also conserves time with this. You do not need to have to adjust privacy settings each time you make a status update. It is all fast and easy.
This renders WhatsApp more personalized and easier to use than in the past.
Additional Features You May See
WhatsApp custom status lists can also have a few additional features added to them in an update in the future. Indicatively, you will be in a position to easily create several lists and alternate between them. You can also edit your lists anytime by adding or removing contacts. However, one thing to add is that the changes will be applied only to the future status updates.
In addition to this, WhatsApp is striving to enhance the entire status privacy mechanism, thus enabling users to have a clear understanding of who can access their updates.
Also read: Opera Introduces Browser Connector to Bring AI Chatbots Directly Into Your Browsing
Will this Feature Be Available?
The WhatsApp custom status lists is in development at the moment. It is not available for all users yet. Nevertheless, it has already been detected in beta versions, which implies that it can be first released to beta testers. Then it will be allowed to all users in an update later on. In the meantime, users must wait until it is officially rolled out. However, based on the development, it will be coming soon to Android and iOS platforms.
Final Thoughts
WhatsApp custom status lists are an extremely helpful update that can be of use to privacy-conscious users. It has more control, time-saving, and status sharing is more personal. With this, the CloseFriends feature gives an extra level of privacy, which most users were anticipating. This feature will certainly enhance your experience should you frequently use WhatsApp. In the meantime, simply update your app in order not to miss it upon arrival.
Also read: Claude Opus 4.7: A Smarter and Safer AI Upgrade You Should Know About