WhatsApp status are stored locally on your Samsung device’s internal storage. When you take a photo or video for your status or download someone else’s status, it gets saved in the internal memory of your phone in the Android/Media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/.Statuses folder. The exact location may vary slightly between different Samsung models.
Understanding WhatsApp Status
The WhatsApp status feature allows users to share text, photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. When you post a status, your WhatsApp contacts can view it in the ‘Status’ tab of the app. They can also reply privately to your status via Direct Message (DM).
There are two types of WhatsApp statuses:
- User-generated – Photos, videos, GIFs and text statuses created by you.
- Viewed – Statuses posted by your contacts that you have viewed.
Both these statuses get stored locally on your Samsung device once you view them or create your own. They remain accessible in your phone’s storage for 30 days from upload before being deleted automatically.
WhatsApp Status Storage Location on Samsung
On Samsung devices, WhatsApp stores user-generated and viewed statuses at the following location:
Internal Storage > Android > Media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media > .Statuses
This folder contains the media files for all statuses either created by you or viewed by you in the last 30 days. The files are arranged in sub-folders by date.
Accessing the .Statuses Folder
To access the WhatsApp status storage folder on your Samsung device:
- Open the My Files app on your phone.
- Go to Internal Storage > Android > Media > com.whatsapp.
- Open the WhatsApp folder.
- Open the Media folder inside it.
- You will find the .Statuses folder here containing your status files.
Alternatively, you can also directly search for the folder name “.Statuses” using the search bar in My Files. This will display the status storage location.
Status Storage Structure
Inside the .Statuses folder, you will find several sub-folders with timestamp names like “dd.mm.yyyy”. Each sub-folder contains the media files for statuses from that particular date.
The file names also include a timestamp indicating when the status was viewed or uploaded. This helps WhatsApp identify old statuses that need to be deleted after 30 days.
Some examples of file names you may see are:
- VID-20220915-WA0000.mp4 – Video status file
- IMG-20220914-WA0001.jpg – Image status file
- STAT-20220914-WA0000.txt – Text status file
You may also notice multiple copies of the same status file created at different times. This happens when you view a status multiple times, causing WhatsApp to create separate copies locally.
Manage Storage Space
As WhatsApp automatically deletes statuses older than 30 days, the .Statuses folder size is usually manageable. However, if you notice it taking up too much space, you can manually clear out old statuses.
Delete Old Statuses
- Go to the status storage folder in your phone’s internal storage.
- Manually delete the dated sub-folders containing statuses older than 30 days.
- This will clear up space and remove files WhatsApp is done using.
Stop Saving Viewed Statuses
You can also stop WhatsApp from saving statuses viewed by you. This reduces storage usage over time.
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Go to Data and Storage Usage.
- Toggle off ‘Save to Camera Roll’ option.
With this setting turned off, only your own created statuses will be saved locally. Viewed statuses will not get downloaded.
Use External SD Card Storage
If your Samsung phone has external SD card support, you can set WhatsApp to store media on the SD card instead of internal storage.
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Media Auto Download.
- Tap on ‘Storage Usage’.
- Select your external SD card.
This will move existing WhatsApp media and new downloads to the SD card for more free internal memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does WhatsApp save statuses locally?
WhatsApp needs to save statuses on your device to display them in the app. It also allows you to re-view statuses multiple times offline before they are deleted in 30 days.
Can I share statuses from the .Statuses folder?
No, the statuses saved in the local storage cannot be shared or forwarded. To share a status, you will need to recreate it through the WhatsApp app.
Do deleted statuses get saved locally?
No, if someone deletes their WhatsApp status before 24 hours, it will not get saved on the devices of their contacts who viewed it.
Can I find statuses older than 30 days on my device?
No, WhatsApp automatically deletes statuses older than 30 days both on its servers and from local device storage. So you cannot find statuses from more than 30 days ago.
Will clearing the .Statuses folder delete my own statuses?
No, deleting the local .Statuses folder will only remove the viewed statuses saved on your device. Your own posted statuses are saved on WhatsApp’s servers and will still be available in the app.