WhatsApp status allows you to share photos, videos, and texts that disappear after 24 hours. By default, your status updates are visible to all your contacts. However, WhatsApp gives you options to control who can view your status updates.
You can choose to share your status publicly with all contacts, privately with only selected contacts, or block specific contacts from viewing your status updates. WhatsApp also allows you to see a list of contacts who have viewed your status in the past 30 days.
Who Can See My WhatsApp Status Updates?
Your WhatsApp status is visible to all your contacts by default. Any contact who has your phone number saved in their address book can see your status updates.
To change the privacy settings, open WhatsApp and tap on the More options icon (3 vertical dots) in the top right corner on Android or bottom right corner on iPhone. Then select Settings > Account > Privacy.
Under ‘Status privacy’, you will see three options:
- My contacts: Default option. Your status is visible to all your contacts.
- My contacts except…: Choose specific contacts to exclude from seeing your status.
- Only share with…: Select particular contacts who can view your status.
Share Status With All Contacts
This is the default setting in WhatsApp. Anyone who has your number saved in their phonebook will be able to see your status updates.
This option is ideal if you want to share your status publicly with friends, family, colleagues, and others connections. It allows you to broadcast updates without any restrictions.
Exclude Specific Contacts
This setting allows you to share your status with all contacts except a few that you explicitly exclude. Tap on ‘My contacts except’ and it will show your full contacts list. Select the contacts you want to block from seeing your status updates.
This is useful when you want to share your status broadly but block a few specific contacts like ex-partners, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. The excluded contacts will not be able to view your status updates.
Share Only With Selected Contacts
To share your status privately with only a few selected people, choose the ‘Only share with…’ option. You will see your full contact list here. Choose the contacts you want to share your status with.
This setting is ideal if you only want a small group of close friends or family members to see your updates. It allows you to be selective and maintain privacy from other contacts.
Customizing Status Privacy
WhatsApp allows you to set a global privacy setting for your status. But you can also customize the visibility for each status update when you post it.
While posting a new status update, tap on the audience selector option on top. Here you can choose who can view that particular update from three options:
- My Contacts
- My Contacts Except
- Only Share With
This allows you to override the global privacy setting for specific updates. For example, you can choose to share a particular update with all contacts even if you have your default status privacy set to ‘Only Share with’.
Viewing Your Status Privacy Settings
To check your current status privacy settings in WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp and tap More options (3 dots) > Settings > Account.
- Tap on Privacy.
- Under ‘Status privacy’, you can see the current audience for your status updates.
Here you can also change the default privacy setting for your status updates.
Limiting Status Privacy Further
In addition to controlling who can view your status, WhatsApp also gives you options to limit status privacy further:
Disable Read Receipts
By default, when someone views your status update, WhatsApp shows a read receipt that the contact has seen the update. To disable read receipts:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy
- Disable ‘Read receipts’ option
This will prevent contacts from knowing when you have viewed their status updates.
Turn Off ‘Seen by’ List
WhatsApp shows you a list of contacts who have viewed your status in the past 30 days. To turn this off:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy
- Disable ‘Status view’ option
This will stop WhatsApp from showing you the viewed-by list for your statuses.
Block Specific Contacts
You can completely block contacts from viewing your profile photo, about section, and status updates by blocking them.
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Blocked
- Tap ‘Add’ and select the contact to block.
Blocked contacts will no longer be able to see any of your WhatsApp account information.
Viewing Someone Else’s Status Anonymously
If you want to view someone’s status anonymously without them knowing, you can turn off ‘Read Receipts’ in your WhatsApp settings. This will ensure the other person does not receive a read receipt when you view their status.
You can also turn off the ‘Seen by’ list in your settings. This will stop WhatsApp from showing that contact your name in their list of people who have viewed their status.
Lastly, you can view someone’s status anonymously using WhatsApp Web. Open web.whatsapp.com on your computer and view their status updates. They will not get any indication that you have seen their status.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my last seen from specific contacts?
Yes, you can configure your ‘Last Seen’ privacy separately in WhatsApp settings. Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen. Here you can hide your last seen timestamp from specific contacts.
How long do status updates stay visible?
WhatsApp status updates automatically disappear after 24 hours. Status photos and videos are visible for 24 hours from the time they are posted.
Can I save someone else’s status updates?
No, you cannot directly save another contact’s status updates. However, you can take a screenshot of their status and save it to your camera gallery.
Can I post status updates without showing my name?
No, your name and profile photo will be visible along with your status updates to the audience you have selected. There is no option to post anonymously.
Can I see status updates from contacts I have blocked?
No, you will not be able to see status updates from any contact that you have blocked on WhatsApp.
Conclusion
WhatsApp status privacy settings give you detailed control to choose exactly who can view your updates. You can share publicly, privately, exclude specific contacts, and even customize the audience for each update.
Additional options like disabling read receipts and viewed-by lists allow you to limit status visibility further. Make sure to configure status privacy as per your preferences for an optimal WhatsApp experience.