WhatsApp is bringing the algorithm to your status updates

WhatsApp is rolling out a feature which will change the way you view your status updates.

As it stands your status updates are loaded in chronological form, so essentially the latest one is what you see.

The feature they are testing is one which will rank status updates based on importance, prioritising specific contacts to appear at the top of the updates tray.

According to wabetainfo the options are:

Frequent Contact: the app prioritizes contacts users chat with often by querying the local database, indicating a higher level of interaction and importance.
Pinned Contact: pinned chats indicate the preference to prioritize certain conversations. These will also be prioritized within the Updates tab.
Recent Messaging: recently messaged contacts are prioritized to reflect the immediacy and relevance of user interactions.
Expiring Status Update: when a status update is about to expire, it is prioritised to ensure users see timely updates before they disappear.

Now that in principle looks like a better experience, but fears are that your status updates could the way of the Facebook algorithms, where certain contacts will become more difficult to see.

And we know how went over at the blue app.