WhatsApp status allows users to share photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. It’s a way to share temporary updates with your contacts in a creative way.
Creating a Status
To create a status, open WhatsApp and tap on the camera icon in the top left on iOS or top right on Android. This will open your phone’s camera so you can take a new photo or video for your status.
You can also select an existing photo or video from your camera roll. WhatsApp status supports photos, videos up to 30 seconds, and GIFs. Keep in mind that any media you share to your status will disappear after 24 hours.
Adding Text
After selecting a photo or video, you have the option to add text by tapping the pencil icon. This allows you to add captions or creative text effects to your status.
Doodling and Drawing
WhatsApp also lets you doodle or draw on your status photos and videos. After selecting your media, tap the pen or highlighter icon to start drawing. You can choose different colors and brush sizes.
Emojis and Stickers
To make your statuses more expressive, you can add emojis, text faces, and stickers. Tap the smiley face icon after selecting your photo/video to browse options and select your desired emoji or sticker.
Trim and Edit Media
If you selected a video from your camera roll, you can trim it within WhatsApp by tapping on the scissors icon. This allows you to select just a short segment of the video for your status. You can also edit media by adding filters, rotations, and more.
Viewing Statuses
To view your contacts’ statuses, swipe right from the Chats tab in WhatsApp. This will display a list of your contacts’ names and profile photos. Tap on any contact to view their latest status update.
Statuses appear in a full-screen view, and you can swipe up or down to cycle through multiple status updates from your contacts. Any statuses marked as “viewed” will have a blue tick below them.
Replying to Statuses
While viewing someone’s status, tap and hold on the screen to open reply options. You can reply with a text message, emoji, or by creating your own status and tagging that contact. They will receive a notification of your reply.
Status Privacy
By default, your status updates can be viewed by all of your WhatsApp contacts. However, you can customize your status privacy in Settings > Account > Privacy.
Here you can choose to limit status visibility to selected contacts only. You can also block specific contacts from viewing your status updates.
Status Features
Disappearing Media
One of the defining features of WhatsApp status is that all shared photos, videos, and GIFs disappear after 24 hours. This creates a continually updating feed of temporary content.
So if you share something to your status in the morning, it will be automatically deleted the next morning. This prevents stale statuses from cluttering up your profile.
View Counts
You can see how many contacts viewed your status updates. In the status tab, tap on “My Status” to see view counts for your last few statuses. This lets you gauge which statuses were most popular.
Quick Camera Access
Since statuses rely on photos and videos, WhatsApp makes it easy to access your phone’s camera. Just tap on the camera icon in any chat or on the main screen to instantly take a photo or video for your status.
Albums
If you upload multiple photos or videos at the same time, WhatsApp will automatically group them into an album. Contacts can swipe vertically to view all the media in your album status.
Status Highlights
Important status updates can be pinned to your profile for 24 hours as “status highlights.” Tap the 3 dots menu on a status and select “Pin to profile” to make it a highlight.
Saving Media
Normally, statuses disappear after 24 hours. But if you want to save a status photo or video, open the status and tap on the 3 dots menu icon to download the media to your device’s storage.
Why Statuses Matter
For both individual users and businesses, statuses provide important benefits beyond just messaging:
- Self-Expression – Statuses let you share your personality and interests creatively.
- Show Off Experiences – Give friends and family a visual update on your daily life or travels.
- Share Memories – Rediscover forgotten photos by sharing them to your status.
- Engage Customers – Businesses can use statuses to humanize their brand and highlight products.
- Share Deals & Offers – Promote sales, coupons and special events through status updates.
- Be Discovered – Use a public business profile so anyone can follow your brand’s status.
- Get Feedback – Check status views and reactions to see what resonates most with your audience.
User Engagement
Viewing friends’ statuses and posting your own updates is a fun way to engage with WhatsApp. Statuses encourage you to interact using photos, videos, emojis, text, and more.
Self Expression
With the creative tools WhatsApp provides for statuses, you can share a unique perspective on your daily experiences. Change up your status frequently to give contacts a better sense of your personality.
Discoverability
Through public business profiles, statuses provide a way for brands to attract new customers. Potential customers can follow a business profile to view status updates showcasing products or offers.
Status Ideas
Not sure what to share in your status? Here are some fun ideas:
- Vacation photos or videos
- Celebrating an occasion or event
- Your favorite music or movies
- A creative selfie
- Funny reactions and memes
- Food you are eating
- Places you visit or want to go
- Inside jokes with friends
- Family moments
- Favorite memories and throwbacks
You can get creative and use statuses to share virtually anything from your daily life and interests. The ephemeral nature makes it fun and low-pressure.
Status Limitations
While WhatsApp status provides an engaging way to share quick updates, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- Disappearing media – Photos, videos, etc. are only available for 24 hours.
- No permanent hosting – Statuses can’t currently be embedded outside of WhatsApp.
- Text limit – Up to 139 characters for text-only status updates.
- File size limit – Videos can be up to 16MB and GIFs up to 100MB.
- No comments – Friends can only reply privately, not comment publicly.
- Not optimized for businesses – More focused on individual sharing than ads or promotions.
While you can’t rely solely on WhatsApp status for permanent hosting or robust business marketing, it excels as a fun way to creatively engage with your personal network.
Summary
WhatsApp status provides a multimedia feed of temporary photos, videos, GIFs and text overlaid on them, allowing you to share creative and expressive updates with friends and contacts. Statuses disappear after 24 hours, creating an ephemeral experience centered around in-the-moment sharing.
With doodles, emojis, text tools, editing options, and easy camera access, statuses enable engaging self-expression. You can also customize exactly who sees your updates. For both individual and business use, statuses unlock fun ways to creatively interact with your WhatsApp network.