WhatsApp Status is another Snapchat-like feature the popular Facebook-owned chat messenger, has been announced. Just like the Camera feature inspired by its social rival last year, the Status feature has kind of turned the app into a social media app. It no longer is just a chat app.

The new feature “WhatsApp Status” will allow you to share photos, videos, and GIFs as your status (i.e. stories) which will auto-destruct in 24 hours. The feature was tested in November last year and was pushed to beta testers early February.

The update hasn’t just added a new tab for the status in the menu on top of your screen, but also a camera button right in the middle of things, which can be used to update your status, or a contact, or group.

WhatsApp Status: 9 Things You Should Know

It’s an exciting update as you will have the ability to control who sees your statuses. But in case you have any doubts about how to use the feature, here’s what you need to know about the revamped WhatsApp Status updates.

When will I get the Status feature?

When your account gets access to Status, you won’t have to download or install an app update from the App Store or Play Store — it’ll just show up.

You’ll know if you have access to Status on iOS when the Contacts tab gets replaced with a camera icon, and the far-left tab reads “Status.” Android users will see a new Camera icon to the left of the Chats tab, next to a new Status tab.

How do I use WhatsApp Status?

To view someone’s status update, tap the Status tab and select a contact’s status. To reply to one of your contact’s status updates, tap Reply at the bottom of the screen while viewing their status.

Adding your own status update

To add a status update:

• Go to the Status screen.
• Tap the status  icon.
• You can take a new photo or record a new video, or choose an existing one from the picker, then tap the send  button.

You can also add a caption and personalize your status updates by adding emojis, text and freehanded drawings to your photos and videos.

Videos can go longer than 10 seconds

Instead of limiting your video status updates to just 10 seconds (like Snapchat), videos you record and share as a Status can be as long as 45 seconds.

And you can upload GIFs!

In the year 2017, supporting animated images, or GIFs, in an app is a requirement. As such, WhatsApp Status will accept GIFs you’ve saved to your camera roll or photos app. Select a GIF, trim it down if you need to, and share just as you would a regular, boring, photo or video.

Your Status will remain active for 24 hours, after which it disappears.

Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be a way to save a Status to your phone. Whatever you capture and create in WhatsApp is limited to WhatsApp.

Don’t Want Everyone To See Your Status Update?

Your status updates cannot be seen by people whose numbers are not saved in your phone’s address book. You can choose to share your status updates with all of your contacts, or with selected contacts only. By default, your status updates are set to be shared with all your contacts.

To change your status privacy:

• Go to the Status screen.
• Tap the Menu Button > Status privacy.
• Choose who can see your status updates.

Note: Changes to your privacy settings won’t affect status updates that you’ve already sent.

If you have disabled Read Receipts, you will not be able to see who’s viewed your status update. If a contact has disabled Read Receipts, you will not be able to see that they have viewed your status update.

Status is Messed Up! How To Delete It

Status updates automatically disappear after 24 hours. You can also manually delete a status update, which removes it from your contact’s phones.

To manually delete a status update:

• Go to the Status screen.
• Tap the three dots next to My status > tap and hold your status update.
• Tap the trash can icon > Delete.

Muting a status update you don’t like

You can mute the status updates of a particular contact or group so they won’t appear at the top of the status list anymore.

To mute a status update:

• Go to the Status screen.
• Tap and hold your contact’s status update.
• Tap Mute.

To unmute a status update:

• Go to the Status screen.
• Scroll down to see the Muted statuses and tap and hold your contact’s status update.
• Tap Unmute.

Find out who’s viewing your Status

A view counter is placed at the bottom of your screen, showing you how many people have watched or looked at your status. You can swipe up on the screen to view a list of contact names who have viewed your Status.

You can get away with screenshots

Unlike Snapchat, WhatsApp does not alert you when a contact takes a screenshot of your Status. In other words, be conscious of exactly what you are sharing to your Status, just because it disappears from your Status after 24 hours doesn’t mean no one saved a copy.