With WhatsApp, you can easily view the status updates of all your contacts right within the app. Here is a quick 60-word answer – Open WhatsApp, tap on the ‘Status’ tab at the bottom, this will display statuses of all recent contacts. To view all contacts, tap on the three-dot menu icon at top right and select ‘View Status Updates’. This displays status of all your contacts in chronological order.
Understanding WhatsApp Status Feature
The WhatsApp status feature allows users to share text, photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. It’s similar to the Stories feature on other social media platforms. When you post a status update, it’s visible to all your WhatsApp contacts by default. Similarly, you can view status updates from all your contacts in WhatsApp.
Status updates give you a quick way to share moments from your day without cluttering up chats. Since statuses disappear after 24 hours, they are ephemeral in nature compared to permanent chat messages. Many users actively post status updates daily on WhatsApp. So the Status tab serves as a feed to see latest updates from all your connections.
Viewing Recent Status Updates
WhatsApp shows you status updates from your frequently contacted users by default when you open the Status tab. Here are the steps to view recent status updates on WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp on your phone.
- Tap on the ‘Status’ tab at the bottom, next to Chats and Calls tabs.
- You will see status updates from some of your recent contacts.
- Tap on any status update to view the full status.
- Swipe vertically to view other recent status updates.
This page shows you status updates from contacts you interact with regularly on WhatsApp. The order depends on your messaging patterns. WhatsApp intelligently picks statuses to show you based on relevance.
Viewing All Contacts’ Status Updates
While the Status tab shows you updates from recent contacts, you may want to view status updates from all your contacts at times. This gives you a complete overview of who has shared new statuses recently. Here are the steps to view status updates from all contacts:
- Open the Status tab in WhatsApp.
- Tap on the three-dot menu button at the top right corner.
- Select ‘View Status Updates’ option.
- You will now see status updates from all your contacts in chronological order.
- Scroll down to view earlier status updates.
This page lists out status updates from all your WhatsApp contacts in reverse chronological order. The most recent update is shown first. You can scroll down to view older statuses. This gives you a single place to view all updates conveniently.
Status Privacy Settings
While status updates are visible to all your contacts by default, WhatsApp does give you control over status privacy and settings. You can choose who can view your status updates. Here are the status privacy options:
- My Contacts – Your status is visible to all your contacts by default
- My Contacts Except – Select specific contacts to exclude
- Only Share With – Select specific contacts to share status with
To change status privacy settings:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy
- Tap on ‘Status’ option
- Select your preferred visibility setting
You can choose to hide your status from specific contacts or share it with a customized list of people only. Your contacts will not be notified when you exclude them.
Muting Statuses
While viewing status updates from all contacts can be useful, some users may find certain status updates irrelevant or unnecessary. WhatsApp lets you mute status updates from specific contacts for 30 days or always:
- Open the status update you want to mute
- Tap the three dot menu icon at the top right
- Select ‘Mute [name]’ to mute updates from that contact
- Choose either 30 days or Always
Muted status updates will still be visible in your main status list but are muted from the recent updates section. You can unmute at any time from the same menu.
Deleting Your Status Updates
Since your status updates automatically disappear after 24 hours, you may not feel the need to actively manage or delete them. However, if you change your mind and want to delete a status update sooner than 24 hours, here are the steps:
- Open your profile on WhatsApp > Tap on My Status section
- This will show your published status updates
- Tap and hold on the status update you want to delete
- Tap on ‘Delete’ option to delete that particular update
Similarly, you can delete your entire status history as well from the My Status section. This will delete all your status updates at once.
Turning Off Status Updates
If you don’t want to actively view or share status updates on WhatsApp, you can disable the feature completely. Here is how to turn off status updates:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings
- Tap Account > Privacy
- Tap on Status
- Select ‘Nobody’ option
This will disable sharing your status with anyone. You can still view other people’s updates though. To disable that as well:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Notifications
- Turn off ‘Show Status Previews’ option
This will stop showing any status updates from your contacts on WhatsApp.
Troubleshooting Tips
Here are some tips to troubleshoot issues you may face with WhatsApp statuses:
- If status updates are not loading, check your internet connection
- Force close and reboot WhatsApp if statuses are frozen
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version if facing bugs
- Clear cache and data if issues persist after updates
- Cannot see someone’s status specifically? They may have hidden it from you
- Make sure you have not muted that contact’s status updates
- Check status privacy settings if your status is not visible
Conclusion
WhatsApp status provides a convenient way to share quick updates with your contacts in an ephemeral format. You can easily view all your contacts’ status updates from one place chronologically. Customize your preferences by muting statuses, hiding your status, and disabling the feature if you prefer. With these tips, you can easily master WhatsApp statuses and use them effectively for staying connected.