How to use status

Android
iOS
Web
We’re building and testing out new features, like Status Mentions, and they may not be available to you yet. In the meantime, we recommend keeping WhatsApp updated on your device so you can get the feature as soon as it's available.
You can use Status to share photos, videos, text and voice statuses that disappear after 24 hours. You’ll find the Status section in the Updates tab. Contacts’ status updates will appear in the Recent updates section of Status.
To see someone’s status, and for them to see yours, you’ll need to have each other saved as contacts.
Swipe to see recent statuses from contacts. You can see muted statuses by scrolling to the right. Or, tap Muted updates.

Create and share a status

From the Updates tab, you can share a photo, video, text or voice status by tapping your profile picture under Status
You can choose who can see your status by adding them to your status audience or mentioning them.
Note:
  • People you mentioned can reshare the content of your status to their audience.
  • You can mention people who aren’t in your contacts.
Learn more about status mentions or status privacy.

Text and voice status

  1. Tap the Updates tab, then tap
    add
    .
  2. Tap
    text
    to write a text update. To add a link, copy and paste it into the text editor.
    • Tap T to pick a font.
    • Tap
      change color
      to pick a background color.
    • Tap
      microphone
      hold to record a voice status update.
  3. Tap
    send
    to share your status.
Note: You can’t mention people in a text or voice status for now.

Photo status

  1. Tap the Updates tab, then tap
    add
  2. Status will open on Photo.
  3. Tap the Gallery icon to choose a photo, Or, take a photo.
  4. From here, you can choose to:
    • Tap
      stickers
      to include a sticker, emoji, or your avatar. Swipe up for filters.
    • Tap T to add text. To add a link, copy and paste it into the text editor.
    • Tap the pencil to draw on your photo.
    • Tap the text box to add a caption.
    • Tap Status (Contacts) in the bottom left to customize your audience.
    • Tap @ to privately mention up to 5 people in your status. This notifies them about your status, and they can reshare the content of your status to their audience.
  5. Tap
    send
    to share your status.
Note:
  • HD media isn’t supported for status updates.
  • The quality of media, such as images, GIFs, videos, and pictures uploaded into WhatsApp Status may be lower than the original version.
  • Upload high quality images to status to prevent low quality photos.

Video status

  1. Tap the Updates tab, then tap
    add
  2. Tap Video.
  3. Tap Gallery icon in the bottom left to choose a video. Or, record a video.
    • Note: WhatsApp supports 3GP and mpeg4 video formats.
    • Tap @ to privately mention up to 5 people in your status. This notifies them about your status, and they can reshare the content of your status to their audience.
    • Tap Status (Contacts) in the bottom left to customize your audience.
  4. Tap
    send
    to share your status.
Note:
  • WhatsApp supports 3GP and mpeg4 video formats.
  • Videos can be up to 60 seconds long.

View status

Tap the contact to view their status.
If someone has shared a status you haven't seen yet, you'll see a blue ring around their profile picture.
You can see statuses you’ve already viewed.
If you follow channels, you’ll find viewed updates under Status. They’ll have a grey ring around them.
If you don’t follow channels, tap the right arrow next to Viewed updates.
When you view someone's status they can tell you’ve seen it unless you or they have disabled read receipts.

Reply or react to status

To reply to a status:
  1. Tap a status.
  2. Tap Reply.
  3. Type your reply.
    • Tap
      add
      to attach something.
    • Or, tap
      stickers
      to include a sticker, emoji, or your avatar. As soon as you tap a sticker or emoji, it’ll be shared.
  4. Tap
    send
To react to a status:
  1. Tap a status.
  2. Swipe or tap Reply.
  3. Tap an avatar sticker. You'll only see this if you've created one.
  4. Or, tap an emoji to react with.
  5. As soon as you tap an avatar sticker or emoji, it'll be shared.
To reshare a status you were mentioned in:
  1. From the chat with the private mention, open the status.
  2. Tap the Forward icon.
  3. Edit as you would with any status, select your audience, and tap
    send
    to share.
Note: For now, you can’t mention people:
  • In a reshared status.
  • In a text or voice status.

Delete or edit status

Learn how to delete a status.
You can’t edit a status. However, you can edit a photo or video before you upload it as a status.
Note:
  • You’ll need at least 1GB of storage available on your device to view statuses. If you’re having any problems, try clearing your phone storage.
  • If you delete a status after mentioning people, they’ll see an error message when trying to view the status.

Save a status

You can save your own status on iPhone. You can’t save anyone else’s status. If you choose to reshare a status you were mentioned in as your own, you can save it normally.
To save your status:
  1. Tap your status.
  2. Tap
    more
    on the status you want to save.
  3. Tap Share
  4. Save your photo or video.

Related resources

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