WhatsApp is working on a quicker way to post where you are as a Status on Android: a Location button that needs no photo or video behind it. The place appears as a map card instead of a sticker.
The current route is long. You pick something from your gallery, open the drawing editor, add the location sticker, and viewers then have to tap the sticker for details. The new route starts in the Updates tab, in the sheet that opens for adding a Status. Tap Location, give the app permission, and it fills in where you are.
You can accept that guess or type another place before posting. At least approximate location access is required, so setting the phone to share only an approximate position is the way to avoid revealing an exact spot.
The finished card shows a small map, a green pin, the place’s name and its full address, and tapping the button along the top of the viewer’s screen enlarges it. The option turned up in beta build 2.26.45.8 from Google Play.
The screenshots show the idea in practice. The Add status sheet gains a Location icon next to Layout, Voice and AI images, and the sample Status, set in Menlo Park, California, is a plain coloured background with the map card and a button above it. Nothing has to be shot or chosen first, which is the point for anyone who just wants to tell friends or family where they are.
The option is still under development and has not reached beta testers, and WhatsApp has set no release date. The same beta line already added playback at twice the speed for Status, triggered by holding a finger on the right edge of the screen.
