For better or worse, WhatsApp is the foremost messaging platform on Android (as much though as I champion Signal at every possible opportunity). With the “Status” feature, it doubles as a kind of mini social-network platform, letting users post a status that expires after a certain amount of time (although you can also make it permanent).
These statuses can sometimes be funny clips or memes, and if you want to get your hands on them, there’s a way to do it without asking your friends. Here’s how.
Also read: 5 Android Apps to Enhance Your WhatsApp Experience
What is a WhatsApp status?
On WhatsApp’s main interface for Android, you get three chief headings for each section of the app: Chats, Status and Calls. Statuses are similar to Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook stories. A user uploads a picture, video or text that WhatsApp keeps up for 24 hours or until the user decides to delete it.
Also read: How to View a WhatsApp Status Secretly
Why would you want to save a WhatsApp status?
Has one of your contacts ever uploaded a video or a particularly funny picture you want to share? WhatsApp doesn’t make it particularly easy for you to do this. You have to ask a friend to send you the media, screen grab it yourself or download an application that saves statuses for you. This is a waste since WhatsApp already downloads the media onto your phone (and hides it) when you view it (unless of course you’ve told it not to).
How to find and copy WhatsApp statuses
This tutorial was done on Android 10, which is a little more restrictive than previous versions. You used to be able to find the WhatsApp “Statuses” folder using the default Files app, but these days you’ll need to use a third-party app, as it’s become a hidden folder.
We used the retro-looking but reliable Total Commander, but really, you can use any one of our favorite Android file manager apps, and it will do the job.
Using Total Commander (or your file manager of choice), go to “/storage/emulated/0″ (aka ‘Internal shared storage”), then navigate to “/WhatsApp/Media/.Statuses/.”
Here you’ll see all the Statuses posted by your friends that are stored on your phone like other WhatsApp images. You can save them one by one or select multiple statuses to save.
Also read: 13 of the Best WhatsApp Web Tips and Features
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I find the Status in my downloads?
If you can’t find your friend’s status in the above-mentioned folder, then the most likely reason is that you’ve turned off “auto-download” of media in WhatsApp. To turn this back on (even if temporarily), go to your “WhatsApp Settings -> Storage and data”, then in the “Media auto-download” section, tap the type of connection you want auto-downloads to work under (data, Wi-Fi etc.), then make sure that “Photos” and “Videos” are set to auto-download.
Can my friend see if I've looked at their status?
By default, yes, but in a slightly roundabout way you can make yourself invisible when viewing others’ statuses. To do this, you need to disable “Read receipts,” which is primarily to stop the double ticks appearing when you’ve read messages.
Go to your “WhatsApp Settings -> Account -> Privacy” then toggle the “Read receipts” slider to the “Off” position.
Can my friend see if I've saved their status?
Worried that your friend will be a bit weirded out when they see that you downloaded their status? Don’t be. Seeing as the status downloads automatically as soon as you look at it, they won’t know that it’s saved locally on your device.
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