Any frequent WhatsApp user will be familiar with the Status feature. This feature allows you to share photos, videos, text, and more recently, audio recordings with people on your contact list. Each status has a time limit of 24 hours before it expires.
Although statuses can be a good way to check what your contacts are up to, they can also become annoying.
WhatsApp doesn’t allow you to turn off this feature in the app but with a simple workaround, it is possible to stop seeing all statuses.
How to Stop Seeing Statuses on WhatsApp
Firstly, if you’re merely looking to keep a particular user’s status from your feed, it’s possible to mute that person’s status. To do this, simply go to the list ofRecent updatesand press and hold on the status you want to mute. A pop-up will appear to confirm your decision. Click onMute. This pushes that particular person’s status updates to theMuted Updatessection.
But what if you want to block the feature entirely? By removing the contact permission from the app, you can indirectly block status updates. With the contact access removed, WhatsApp can’t confirm that you have the numbers saved and won’t show you their status updates.
To block the WhatsApp Status feature on Android, simply press and hold on the WhatsApp icon in the home screen or app drawer and selectApp infoor the “i” icon. Click onPermissionsand selectContactsfrom the list of Allowed permissions. ChooseDon’t Allow. Note that you might have to close and open the app to effect the change.
A similar but slightly longer process works on iOS. You’ll have to open theSettingsapp, navigate toPrivacy & Security, and selectContactsfrom the list of permissions. You should see a list of all apps that have access to this permission. Find WhatsApp on the list and toggle the switch next to it.
That’s all there is to it. You won’t see any more status updates until you turn on Contact access for WhatsApp again. To learn more about how the Status feature works and what it is capable of, check out ourguide on how to use WhatsApp Statuses.
The Cons of Blocking WhatsApp Statuses
While blocking statuses can get rid of updates from your contacts that you don’t want, there are also disadvantages to using this method to block statuses on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp loses access to your contact list, which means that you won’t be able to see the names of people who message you or add any new contacts. This can be problematic if you have more than a few friends messaging you occasionally. However, if you’re up to it, this can also be a fun challenge to learn to recognize people by their profile pictures or phone numbers.
Also, once you turn off contact permissions, the Status feature stops working completely. You won’t be able to see anyone’s status updates, and they won’t be to see any of yours either.
If you want to avoid this, we recommend muting the Statuses of contacts that use the feature.
Regain Your Time And Attention
While the status feature certainly has its merits, there is no denying that introducing a time limit on these posts makes users check them more often, partly due to the fear of missing out.
Blocking WhatsApp statuses completely will be untenable for most people though, so you may either choose to restrict them at certain periods or mute specific people instead. Any option is fine as long as it helps you keep your social media usage in check.
