WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users globally. People use it every day to chat, call, share media, and stay connected with friends, family, and even businesses. 

Status is a 24-hour story-style update where users post photos, videos, or text to share what they’re up to.

Over the course of three months, I conducted a design sprint to evaluate the existing experience, identify user pain points, and explore interaction patterns. 

This case study focuses on evaluating the current WhatsApp status feature and proposing improvements that can enhance user engagement.

Problem Statement

"WhatsApp Status" forces users to manually set privacy every time or rely on a static default.

Current Limitations

• No way to save or reuse specific contact groups for sharing.

• Changing privacy settings is buried and not intuitive.

• You need to manually set it every time, or keep changing your privacy list.

Current UX Issues

• Are users finding it hard to navigate?

• Are there visibility issues?

• Are interactions low?

• Does it lack personalization?

"Despite being a popular feature, WhatsApp Status lacks discoverability and interaction design that encourages deeper engagement."

User Research

To understand user behavior and gather feedback around WhatsApp Status privacy and usage, I used a mixed-method approach.

Pain Points

Features Users Want

Current User Flow

Use cases

Experience Gaps

Gaps between what users expect and what WhatsApp currently offers for Status sharing.

Competitor Analysis

Feature Parity

 WhatsApp vs Competitors

Further Input

Introducing Whatsapp Circles

WhatsApp Circles is a feature where, users can create and save custom contact groups to easily manage visibility of whatsapp status.

This MVP allows users to,
1. Create, name, and edit Circles
2. Select a Circle at the moment of posting
3. Quickly reuse Circles without digging through settings

Designing

1. Define User Flows (UX)

Create a new custom circle

Select a circle while posting a Status 

Edit or delete an existing circle

2. Wireframes 

• Create circle screen

• Status composer with circle selector

• Circle management settings

• Confirmation/status visibility screen

3. UI Screens

4. UX Fundamentals & Design Principles

5. Testing

Even though I haven’t actually tested this feature in a live app, I’d suggest a simple UX testing scenario like this.

6. What’s Next?

As next steps I am planning to do,

• A/B test placement of the Circles button for faster access.

• Introduce smart suggestions (eg: AI-based Circle recommendations).

• Consider integrating Circles into media sharing (not just Status).
  
  

"At its core, WhatsApp Circles is about respecting users’ boundaries while keeping the joy of sharing alive. Because not every moment is meant for everyone."