A WhatsApp status message is a short text update, image, video, or GIF that you can post on the WhatsApp app to share with your contacts. It appears at the top of your contacts’ chat lists and is visible for 24 hours before disappearing. WhatsApp status updates are similar to the “stories” feature on other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
How to Create a WhatsApp Status
Creating a WhatsApp status is easy. Here are the steps:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on your profile picture in the top left corner.
- Tap “Status” at the top.
- Tap the camera icon to take a photo or video for your status. You can also tap the pencil icon to type a text status.
- Edit the photo/video or type your text status. Add stickers, draw, or add text if you want.
- When done, tap “Send” or “Done” to post your status.
Your status will now be visible to all your WhatsApp contacts for 24 hours. You can also choose to share your status with only select contacts by tapping the “My contacts except…” option before posting.
Status Options
WhatsApp gives you several options for creating visually engaging status updates:
- Photos/Videos: Capture photos or short videos up to 30 seconds to share as your status.
- Text: Type a text update up to 139 characters to express yourself.
- Emojis: Use emojis and text formats like bold, italics, and strikethrough to spice up text statuses.
- Doodling: Draw or add stickers to photos before posting.
- GIFs: Search for trending GIFs or browse WhatsApp’s library to find funny animations.
- Solid color: Choose a solid background color if you don’t want to share a photo.
- Albums: Create photo or video albums of up to 10 media items and swipe through them.
Tips for Great WhatsApp Statuses
Here are some tips to make your WhatsApp status updates stand out:
- Keep text statuses brief and use emojis to add visual interest.
- Capture eye-catching photos and videos showcasing your hobbies, travels, food, pets, etc.
- Use filters, text, and stickers to customize photos before posting.
- Create mini-stories by stringing together a series of related photos.
- Post trending GIFs and memes to entertain your contacts.
- Show your current mood or activity using text, emojis, and location tagging.
- Ask questions and post interactive polls to engage your contacts.
- Limit status album lengths to avoidoverflowing your contacts’ chat lists.
- Don’t overshare or post anything too personal or controversial.
Viewing WhatsApp Statuses
To view someone’s WhatsApp status, open a chat with them and tap on their profile picture, or open your contacts list and tap on their profile picture or name. This will open their status if they have one posted. You can reply directly to a status update by swiping up and tapping “Reply.”
To view statuses from all your contacts in one place, swipe right on the main WhatsApp screen or tap “Status” at the top. From here, you can tap on any contact to view their latest status update.
Status Privacy
By default, WhatsApp statuses are visible to all of your contacts. However, you can choose to share your status with only certain people:
- My Contacts Except: Share your status with all contacts except those you exclude.
- My Contacts: Restrict status visibility only to contacts in your address book.
- Only Share With: Choose specific contacts to share status with.
You can also block a contact from viewing your status updates by tapping the “More” options menu when viewing their profile.
Disappearing Statuses
WhatsApp statuses are designed to be temporary. They disappear after 24 hours and a new status automatically posts. This encourages sharing fleeting, in-the-moment updates similar to Snapchat and Instagram Stories.
However, you can pin a status to your profile so it doesn’t disappear. To do this, tap the three dots menu when viewing your posted status and select “Pin to Profile.” Pinned statuses will remain on your profile until you unpin them.
Watching Statuses Privately
When you view someone’s status update, WhatsApp automatically marks it as “seen.” If you don’t want contacts to know you’ve viewed their status, you can disable read receipts:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy.
- Turn off “Read Receipts.”
With read receipts disabled, your contacts won’t know if you’ve viewed their statuses. However, you also won’t be able to see read receipts from your contacts.
Status Tab Options
When viewing the Status tab where all your contacts’ updates are collected, you have a few options:
- Search: Search for a specific contact’s status.
- Mute: Hide a contact’s status updates.
- Turn Off Updates: Disable statuses from downloading when on cellular data.
- Settings: Manage status privacy and visibility.
Tap the three-dot menu in the top corner while viewing the Status tab to access these options. Muting statuses or turning off auto-download can help manage data usage.
Status Notifications
You can control whether you receive notifications when your contacts post status updates:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Notifications > Status.
- Toggle notifications on or off.
With notifications enabled, you’ll get notified when contacts add new statuses so you don’t miss them. Disable if you find status notifications annoying.
Deleting Statuses
If you change your mind about a status update you’ve posted, you can delete it:
- Go to your profile and tap Status.
- Tap the three-dot menu next to your status.
- Tap Delete.
The status will be immediately removed and no longer visible to your contacts. Note that any contacts who already viewed the status will still have seen it.
Status Character Limit
Text-only WhatsApp statuses have a limit of 139 characters. If you type more than that, you’ll need to delete some text before you can post the status.
For photo, video, and text-on-photo statuses, the character limit depends on the size of the media. You can add up to 250 characters for smaller photos and videos, decreasing as the media size increases.
Customizing Status Privacy
Beyond the basic status privacy options, you can customize exactly which contacts can view your status updates:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Status Privacy.
- Tap “My Contacts Except.”
- Select each contact you want to exclude.
This will let you share your status with specific people while blocking it from others. You can change this anytime.
Using Statuses for Business
WhatsApp statuses can be leveraged by businesses and organizations to share announcements, promotions, new products, and more. Some best practices include:
- Post visually appealing photos and short videos showcasing products.
- Announce sales, deals, and special offers using text statuses.
- Share event dates, reminders, and scheduling updates.
- Preview new menu items, services, or inventory.
- Spotlight employees or customers to humanize your business.
Keep statuses focused on helpful, interesting updates your customers will want to know. Don’t spam or over-commercialize.
WhatsApp Status Ideas
Not sure what to post on your WhatsApp status? Here are some fun ideas:
- Outfit photos when you feel stylish
- Food pics of your tasty meals
- Selfies or photos with friends
- Cool or funny Snapchat-style filtered photos
- Song lyrics to match your mood
- Behind-the-scenes events, concerts, trips, etc
- Pictures of pets or animals being cute
- “OOTD – Outfit of the day” photos
- Memes, funny videos, Vines, etc
- Reaction selfies showing emotions
Get creative and express yourself! Change up your status whenever you feel like sharing something new.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp Status
Can’t Post Status
If WhatsApp won’t let you post a status, try these steps:
- Check your internet connection.
- Force quit and restart the WhatsApp app.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version.
- Clear cache and data for the WhatsApp app.
- Restart your phone.
Status Not Visible to Contacts
If your contacts can’t see your status, ensure your status privacy isn’t set to “Only share with…” specific contacts. You can also try reposting the status.
Can’t See Contact’s Status
If a contact’s status disappears or won’t load, it may be because they have either blocked you, deleted the status, or changed their privacy settings to exclude you.
Conclusion
WhatsApp status provides a fun way to share regular life updates with your contacts in a visual, ephemeral format. Take advantage of the creative tools WhatsApp offers for statuses and post regularly to keep your friends and family looped in. Just be thoughtful about oversharing personal details or flooding chats with too many status updates. With its large built-in user base, WhatsApp status is the perfect platform for sharing your highlights, interests, and personality.