Overview
- WhatsApp is rolling out an experimental status tray to some Android beta users on version 2.26.17.1 through the Google Play beta channel.
- It shows up to three recent status updates at the top of the Chats tab, and users can scroll to see more, including contacts without active chats or those in archive.
- The dedicated Updates tab remains for a fuller view with larger previews, while the Chats tab presents a compact, feed-like strip similar to Instagram Stories.
- WhatsApp is treating this as a limited test to collect feedback, and the tray does not show ads during the experiment.
- Future availability depends on testing results, and WABetaInfo also notes a separate feature in development to filter Channels inside the Chats tab in a later build.