Why WhatsApp's inclusion of Live Location sharing is a big blunder
So WhatsApp is at it again. The messaging application which made an entry into the market in 2010, for better or for worse, has rolled out a new feature called Live Location sharing. The feature was announced earlier in the week, but the latest update which enables the feature has just started to roll out for its 200 million-plus users in India.
With the inclusion of the Live Location sharing feature, WhatsApp has added to the already long list of tasks that this "messaging" application can do. From the inclusion of Snapchat like "Stories", voice and video calling, photo filters, status updates and now sharing of live location, this once uncomplicated and easy to use application is now swiftly, but surely, moving away from everything that helped it become an unparalleled success story.
But before we get to talking more about how the inclusion of this new feature could be the beginning of the end for WhatsApp, let's take a look at what exactly this new Live Location sharing feature is.
Here's how WhatsApp describes it:
"The new feature allows you to share your location in real time with family or friends. 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."
So essentially, what this feature does is that it enables from within the application, the ability to share a user's live – instead of static – location with another user or directly to a group. Thankfully, WhatsApp here gives you the power to decide the duration of the live location share and also allows you to terminate it whenever you feel like.
The feature is very simple to use also. As the company explains in a blogpost, all you need to do to start using the feature is "Open a chat with the person or group you want to share with. Under 'Location' in the attach button, there's a new option to 'Share Live Location'. Choose for how long you want to share and tap send. Each person in the chat will be able to see your real-time location on a map. And if more than one person shares their Live Location in the group, all locations will be visible on the same map."
Why is it problematic
As mentioned above, Live Location sharing is just another addition to the list of features that WhatsApp has launched in the last two years, but a closer look at it reveals how it could end up having the most serious impact on the future of the messaging application.
Unlike the other features such as video, voice calling, and Stories which were taken in the stride by WhatsApp users, this new addition truly holds the potential of ruining the experience of using WhatsApp.
Once loved for being a no-frills message sharing platform, this new path of WhatsApp's evolution charted out by Facebook looks to be over-complicating things by piling up features upon features in a bid to make the application a one stop shop for your social media needs.
But in times when data privacy has become a major concern, WhatsApp's move – much like Facebook – to inch ever so close to becoming a platform that can be misused by authorities and third-party players may not be the best one. Unlike Facebook, which has evolved into the primary plane of existence where your digital avatar lives and breathes, WhatsApp to date remains a platform used by its billion-strong user base solely for communicating in an uncomplicated and discreet manner with friends and family.
And that's the other major headache that this new update brings with it.
Regardless of the success or failure of the feature – in terms of adoption – Live Location sharing working in tandem with WhatsApp's Last Seen feature has the potential of turning the application into a possible nuisance for its core user base – millennials, teens, and pre-teens.
It is true that many will appreciate the feature's usefulness in certain situations, but there is no denying how many more will be troubled by the headaches it will bring with it. By rolling out the Live Location sharing feature, WhatsApp has essentially turned itself into one of those "snooping" apps that your parents or a controlling partner would force you to install for your "safety" (Read: snoop on you).
For many, this will be a big problem – a problem that may even see old users migrating and new ones finding less invasive and uncomplicated alternatives to this new avatar of WhatsApp. If Mark Zuckerberg and co are not careful, this could lead to troubled times for WhatsApp.