WhatsApp’s ‘Status’ feature, a clone of Snapchat’s ‘Stories’, has reportedly amassed 250 million daily users, surpassing its rival’s 166 million total users. The feature allows users to share decorated photos, videos, and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. The success of ‘Status’ has been attributed to WhatsApp’s existing user base of over 1.2 billion monthly users, its easy-to-use interface, and its availability in international markets where Snapchat is not as popular.
Despite the success of ‘Status’, WhatsApp’s monetisation strategy remains uncertain. The company scrapped its $1 annual fee in 2016, and currently does not run ads. However, it has been suggested that the ‘Status’ feature could be used as a potential advertising platform in the future.
Meanwhile, Snapchat’s growth has slowed down significantly, facing stiff competition from Facebook’s suite of apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook itself. All these platforms have launched their own versions of ‘Stories’, and have collectively attracted more than 700 million daily users.
In response to the competition, Snapchat has been focusing on improving its technology and launching new features, such as the ‘Snap Map’. However, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will be enough to regain its momentum.
Go to source article: https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/26/whatsapp-status-stories-250-million/