Fewer things send as many shivers down our spines as the two little words ‘WhatsApp update’. Our palms sweat at the mere thought of another blue tick-esque upgrade or the prospect of a new feature that only highlights the fact we’ve been ghosted by our last 52452 dates and our friends have probably made a new group chat without us.
And the app’s latest update has the potential to send our paranoia into overdrive, thanks to the introduction of a new ‘Live Location’ feature - which lets you share locations in real time.
Doesn’t sound too scary, right? Could even be quite helpful when you lose your pals in the club. But what about when you’re running epically late for brunch and you’ve told a little white lie about your ETA? There’s no hiding now.
And think about it like this: when bae says he can’t see you ‘cos he’s spending time with his mum but he’s actually at a mysterious location surprisingly close to the pub. Or your bffl tells you she’s five minutes away before your big night out, but you can see she hasn’t even left her house yet. It could be a real relationship ruiner. Ignorance is bliss, after all.
But let’s not get carried away, the new update is an ‘opt-in’ feature and you’ll be able to control who you share your location with and for how long.
There’s also a load of safety benefits, users can share their locations when they’re in a taxi, or walking to meet someone.
And it could be the end to the barrage of ‘where r u’ drunk messages exchanged when you get separated from your friends on a night out or at a festival.
"Whether you're meeting up with friends, letting loved ones know you're safe, or sharing your commute, Live Location is a simple and secure way to let people know where you are,” WhatsApp announced in a statement.
"This end-to-end encrypted feature lets you control who you share with and for how long.
“You can choose to stop sharing at any time or let the Live Location timer simply expire."
Yeah, maybe we’re on board after all.
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