The WhatsApp status bar is a feature that allows users to share text, photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. It sits at the top of the chat screen and allows you to get quick updates from your contacts without cluttering up the chat feed. The status feature is similar to stories on other social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
What Does the WhatsApp Status Bar Show?
The status bar displays the profile picture of each contact next to their name. If they have posted a status update, you will see a colorful ring or dot around their profile picture. Tapping on their profile picture allows you to view their status update. This opens a full screen viewer where you can swipe or tap to view other people’s status updates.
Status updates can include:
- Text – Up to 139 characters of text.
- Photos – Single photos or up to 10 photos uploaded as an album.
- Videos – Videos up to 30 seconds long.
- GIFs – Short looping videos or clips.
In group chats, you’ll see the status of each participant at the top of the chat window. Tapping on their profile picture shows only that person’s status, not the status of everyone in the group.
How to Post to Your WhatsApp Status
Posting your own status updates is easy. Just follow these steps:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on your profile picture in the top left corner.
- Tap ‘Status’ near the top of the screen.
- Tap the camera icon to take a new photo or video for your status. Or tap the pencil icon to type a text update.
- Edit or add filters to your photo/video if desired.
- Tap ‘Send’ to post your status update.
Your status will be visible to all your WhatsApp contacts by default. You can change this in your privacy settings.
Viewing WhatsApp Statuses
Here is how to view status updates from your contacts:
- Open WhatsApp and go to the ‘Chats’ tab.
- Look for contacts with a colorful circle around their profile picture.
- Tap on their profile picture to view their status update.
- Swipe left or right to view other people’s status updates.
- Tap on the status to reveal options like reply, forward, save, etc.
- Status updates automatically disappear after 24 hours.
In group chats, you can only view the status of one participant at a time. Tap their profile picture and swipe through only their status.
Replying to WhatsApp Statuses
You can reply to status updates with text, emojis, photos and video messages. Here’s how:
- Open the status update you want to reply to.
- Tap and hold on the status screen.
- Tap ‘Reply’ from the pop-up menu.
- Type or record your reply in the message box.
- Tap ‘Send’.
Your reply will be sent as a private message to the person who posted the status update. They can then continue the conversation with you normally.
Forwarding a WhatsApp Status
See something interesting in someone’s status update? You can forward it to share with other contacts.
- Open the status you want to forward.
- Tap and hold on the status screen.
- Tap ‘Forward’ from the pop-up menu.
- Select the contacts or groups to forward the status to.
- Tap ‘Send’.
For privacy, forwarded statuses will not show who originally posted them. Recipients will see it came from you.
Saving a WhatsApp Status
Want to save something funny or memorable from a friend’s status update? Saving statuses to your camera roll is easy.
- Open the status you want to save.
- Tap and hold on the status screen.
- Tap ‘Save’ from the pop-up menu.
- The status is saved to your camera roll.
Photos and videos in statuses are automatically saved. For text statuses, WhatsApp will take a screenshot and save the text.
Muting WhatsApp Statuses
If someone is posting too many statuses, you can mute them to avoid seeing updates from that contact. Here’s how to mute statuses:
- Go to the chat screen with that contact.
- Tap the contact’s name at the top.
- Tap ‘Mute’ from the menu.
- Select ‘Mute Status’ to only mute statuses or ‘Mute Notifications’ to mute messages too.
Muted status contacts will have a gray ring/dot instead of colorful status indicators. You won’t see their updates, but muting is not visible to the contact.
Turning Off WhatsApp Status
If you don’t want to use the status feature at all, you can disable your status. Here’s how:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Account > Privacy.
- Turn off ‘Status’ so it is disabled.
With status disabled, your contacts won’t be able to see when you were last online or if you’ve read their messages.
Deleting Your WhatsApp Status
Accidentally post something embarrassing? Delete it before all your contacts see it. Here’s how to delete a status:
- Go to your profile and tap ‘Status’.
- In the ‘My Status’ tab, tap and hold on the status to delete.
- Tap delete from the pop-up menu.
- Confirm deleting the status.
Deleting removes the status from WhatsApp. Anyone who has already viewed the status will still have seen it.
Limiting Who Sees Your Status
By default all your contacts can view your WhatsApp status updates. You can change this in your privacy settings.
- Go to WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Account > Status Privacy.
- Choose from:
- My Contacts – Only your contacts can see status updates.
- My Contacts Except – Choose specific contacts to exclude.
- Only Share With – Restrict status updates to specific contacts only.
You can also block specific contacts from seeing your status updates entirely by blocking them.
Status View Limit
WhatsApp allows you to see exactly who has viewed your status updates. But it limits this to just your most recent contacts.
Only your last 5 status viewers are shown. After 5 new contacts view your status, the oldest viewer drops off.
This prevents you from being able to see your full viewer list. WhatsApp does this to encourage users to post more personal statuses without worrying about who exactly sees it.
24 Hour Limit
To keep the status bar clean and current, any status updates are automatically deleted after 24 hours. This cannot be changed or extended.
Make sure to save any important statuses you want to keep before the 24 hour limit is up.
Status Character Limit
Text statuses are limited to 139 characters. This is the same limit for messages in WhatsApp.
Visual statuses like photos, videos and GIFs can be up to 30 seconds long. You can upload albums of up to 10 photos.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp Status Issues
Here are some common status problems and how to fix them:
- Can’t see someone’s status updates – Try force closing and reopening WhatsApp. Check your internet connection. You may also be blocked or they limited visibility.
- Status not posting -Poor internet connection is usually the issue. Try toggling Airplane mode on and off to reset the connection.
- Status not sending – Large videos can fail to send. Make sure the video is under 30 seconds and try compressing it to reduce file size.
- Can’t view status – Update to the latest version of WhatsApp. Older versions may not support statuses.
- Missing status privacy options – Make sure you have the latest version of WhatsApp which supports customizing status privacy.
WhatsApp Status FAQs
Can you tell who viewed your WhatsApp status?
Yes, WhatsApp shows you the names of the last 5 contacts who viewed your status updates. But this viewer list is limited for privacy.
Do WhatsApp statuses automatically delete?
Yes, all statuses disappear after 24 hours. This cannot be changed or extended.
Can statuses be saved?
Yes, photos, videos and text statuses can be saved to your camera roll by tapping the ‘Save’ option.
Are WhatsApp statuses private?
No, statuses are visible to all your contacts by default. But you can limit visibility in your privacy settings.
Can you post multiple photos to WhatsApp status?
Yes, you can add up to 10 photos to your status which will appear as a slideshow album to viewers.
So in summary, the WhatsApp status bar allows you to share ephemeral photos, videos and text updates with your contacts. It helps you provide quick life updates without clogging up the chat screen. Customize your privacy settings to control who can view your status updates. And as statuses disappear after 24 hours, have fun sharing your temporary moments!