How to View a WhatsApp Status Secretly

Over the years, WhatsApp has introduced plenty of nifty features, one of which is to create statuses. WhatsApp status allows you to post your current status, which can be viewed by your contacts for the next 24 hours. Every time you view someone’s WhatsApp status, it shows them who has viewed it. In this tutorial, we show how you can view a WhatsApp status secretly without anyone knowing.

Also read: 5 Ways to Create and Share WhatsApp Profile Link

How Does WhatsApp Status Work?

WhatsApp status is a bit of a camouflaged feature that can easily slip under your radar. To get to it in the Android app, you’ll need to open WhatsApp and press on the “Status” tab at the top of the screen.

In the iOS app, tap the “Status” option in the bottom-left corner of the display. On desktop, you’ll need to click on the circular icon on the left side of the screen.

Here you’ll be able to see a list of people who have posted statuses. If you want to check them out, you’ll need to press on a contact’s bubble. Once you do that, they will be able to see that you viewed their status on their end. Statuses are akin to Instagram’s popular Stories. They are basically pictures and short videos that give others a glimpse of the creator’s day-to-day activities. If you’d like to view someone’s status without them knowing, try one of the methods listed below.

Also read: 6 Ways to Send WhatsApp Message Without Saving Number

1. Turn on the App’s Anonymous Status Viewer Option

Let us begin by looking at how you can view a WhatsApp status secretly with the built-in option. These steps work whether you’re accessing the service on your mobile device or PC.

1. Open WhatsApp on your mobile device, then tap on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner of the screen.

2. Select the “Settings” option from the drop-down menu.

3. Head to “Account.”

4. From there, select “Privacy.”

5. Tap on the “Read receipts” option and disable it to view the WhatsApp status of your contacts secretly. Your name will never appear on the view list of your contact.

There is one important drawback of using this method. Once you have disabled this setting, you can’t see who has seen your status. This setting will also hide the read receipt (blue tick) in normal messages. If you don’t want that to happen, you may want to proceed to the next technique.

Also read: Do Social Media and Chat Apps Notify You When a Screenshot Is Taken?

2. Use a File Manager

This method requires you to have a file manager application installed on your Android smartphone, especially one that has the option to view hidden files. Either download one of the many file manager apps in the Play Store, or follow our recommendations here. Depending on you phone’s default file manager, you may not even need to get a third-party one on board.

In this example, we are using the native File Manager app on a OnePlus device, but you can use any other one. This method is meant to be used on your smartphone.

1. Open the File Manager app.
2. Tap on the “Storage” button at the bottom.

3. Press on “Internal storage” at the top.

4. Select “Android” from the options that appear.

5. Hit the “Media” option.

6. Select the “com.whatsapp” folder.

7. Press on “WhatsApp.”

8. Once again select “Media.”

9. Tap on the three dots in the upper-right corner of the display.

10. Choose “Settings.”

11. Toggle on the “Show hidden files” option.

12. Don’t open the new “.Statuses” folder at the bottom of the Media Folder just yet.

13. Go back to WhatsApp without closing the File Manager app and tap on “Status.” Don’t press on the status that you want to see secretly.
14. Instead, go back to File Manager and open the “.Statuses” folder to find the status in question appears here. You can tap on it to view it in full mode.

Also read: How to Prevent WhatsApp from Saving Images to Gallery

3. Install a Third-Party App

Another alternative is to install a third-party app that promises to help you keep track and download new statuses without being seen. A good example is Status Saver – Video Download. It’s only available for Android, but there are some options for iOS users too.

1. Download and install the Status Saver app on the same device with WhatsApp installed.
2. Open it and let it load.
3. When it does, the app will immediately show you a gallery of the latest statues that were uploaded by your contacts on the app.

4. Tap on one of the statuses to view it in full. It’s as simple as that.

5. From the same screen, you can share, save or repost this status.

While the app works really well, there’s one downside: it’s riddled with ads. However, this shouldn’t be a huge problem if you’re only using it to check out a WhatsApp status secretly once in a while. Alternatively, you can opt to upgrade to the Pro version, which will remove ads completely and add a few bonus features.

A few other worthy apps that allow you to view WhatsApp statuses incognito are:

• Status Save to Gallery (Android)
• Status Saver – WA Status Saver (Android)
• Status Saver for WhatsApp Save (iOS)

Also read: How to Export and Back Up Your WhatsApp Chat History

4. View Before Expiry

A WhatsApp status remains live for 24 hours. If you wish to view a WhatsApp status secretly, then you can keep track of the time when the target person’s status was uploaded, and just before the expiry, view it. Many people don’t bother to check how many people have viewed their status that late. It is not a foolproof method, but it is worth a try.

Also read: How to Block Someone on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Other Apps

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you hide your WhatsApp status from some contacts?

Yes, it’s possible to do that. Once in the Status tab, press on the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner and select “Status Privacy.” From there, select either “My contacts except” to prevent certain people from seeing you’ve posted a status or “Only share with” so that only a select handful can view your status.

When that happens, a person who has not been cleared for viewing the status won’t be able to see that you’ve posted a new WhatsApp status. None of the methods described in this article will pick up the hidden status if its owner decides to hide it from you.

Note: you need to change the privacy settings first, then upload the status. If you do it the other way around, it won’t work.

Can I mute someone's WhatsApp statuses so as not to see them anymore?

Out of sight, out of mind, right? The good news is that you can mute someone’s statuses. Go to the “Status” tab in WhatsApp, and open the status in question, then tap on the three dots in the upper-right corner and select “Mute.” If you do that, you won’t be able to see any updates regarding their statuses in your feed.

Can I take a screenshot of a WhatsApp status without being caught?

Yes. Unlike Snapchat, WhatsApp does not alert the other party when you screenshot their status. You can do so without a problem using the built-in method – just don’t forget to turn off “Read receipts” if you are doing so from the app to ensure they won’t see that you viewed their status. If you’re using the other methods, you can easily screenshot or save the statuses to your phone’s Gallery app.

Image credit: Mourizal Zativa via Unsplash All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.