WhatsApp status stories allow users to share photos, videos, and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. It’s a way to share quick ephemeral updates with your contacts in a familiar story format.
How to View WhatsApp Status Stories
To view status stories from your contacts, open WhatsApp and tap on the “Status” tab at the top of the chats list. This will display a list of your contacts who have recently posted status updates. Tap on any contact to view their latest status story or stories.
Status stories appear in a sequence just like Instagram or Snapchat stories. Swipe vertically to view the next status in sequence from that contact. Tap on the status to reveal options to reply privately, react with an emoji, or block that user’s status updates.
Posting WhatsApp Status Stories
To post your own status story, open WhatsApp and tap on your profile picture in the top left. Then tap on “Status” and select a photo or video from your camera roll, or take a new photo directly in WhatsApp.
You can customize your status with text, stickers, drawings, and emoji. Tap the send arrow to post it so your contacts can view your status story for the next 24 hours.
Your contacts will receive a notification that you’ve posted a status update. They can tap to view and reply if they want. Replies and reactions are private and will not be visible to others.
Status Privacy Settings
By default, your status stories in WhatsApp are visible to all of your contacts. But you can customize who can view your status updates in your WhatsApp settings.
To change status privacy, open WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Status. Here you can choose to allow status viewing from:
- Everyone
- My Contacts
- My Contacts Except…
- Only Share With…
Select the option you prefer to control status viewing. You can exclude specific contacts or only share with certain people.
Disappearing Status Stories
One of the key features of WhatsApp status is that it disappears after 24 hours. This creates a sense of ephemerality and urgency to view status updates before they expire.
Once a status story hits the 24 hour mark, it will no longer be visible in your status tab. Your contacts will no longer be able to view it.
If you want to save or record your status stories before they disappear, you can use third-party apps to download and save WhatsApp statuses.
Viewing Archived Status Stories
Although your status stories disappear from the app after 24 hours, WhatsApp does keep an archived history of your stories for 30 days.
To view your archived status stories, open WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Status > My Status History. This will display small previews of your last 30 days of status updates.
Tap any status thumbnail to expand it into a full screen view. You can tap through your archived statuses, but you cannot recover or re-share old status updates.
Why Statuses Disappear
WhatsApp statuses expire after 24 hours for a few key reasons:
- Encourages more authentic and timely sharing in the moment.
- Avoid over-cluttering the app with old statuses.
- Maintains user privacy and ephemeral sharing.
- Promotes more interaction as statuses do not linger.
Overall, the 24 hour limit helps keep WhatsApp status focused on recent, private sharing of everyday moments between close contacts.
Status Capabilities
WhatsApp status supports sharing the following types of multimedia content:
- Photos – Share images from your camera gallery.
- Videos – Upload videos up to 30 seconds long.
- GIFs – Search for and share animated GIFs.
- Text – Type a text update over your photo/video.
- Doodles – Draw or annotate your status creatively.
- Emoji – Express reactions and emotions with icons.
- Stickers – Illustrations and designs to liven up statuses.
You can combine multiple types of content into your status stories. For example, adding text captions over photos or doodling on videos.
Status Views and Reply Notifications
You can see the number of views your status received in the status tab. Tap on your profile picture to see view counts for your recent statuses.
If anyone replies to your status privately, you will receive a notification of their reply. Responses and reactions remain private and are not visible publicly.
Using Statuses Effectively
Here are some tips for utilizing WhatsApp status properly:
- Keep it casual – Don’t overthink it, share as you normally would.
- Value privacy – Remember statuses disappear after 24 hours.
- Stay timely – Share updates in the moment for authenticity.
- Reply thoughtfully – Respond privately if appropriate.
- Be creative – Doodle, animate, and customize your statuses.
- Control audience – Change privacy settings as needed.
- Express yourself – Share everyday moments from your life.
Most importantly, have fun connecting and interacting with your closest contacts!