WhatsApp status updates allow users to share photos, videos, and messages that disappear after 24 hours. By default, your status updates are visible to all of your WhatsApp contacts. However, there are a few ways that people can view your status updates without you being notified.
1. Read Receipts Off
The most common way to view someone’s status anonymously is by turning off read receipts. Read receipts are the check marks that show when someone has viewed your message or status update. If you turn off read receipts in your WhatsApp settings, you can view statuses without the sender being notified. To do this:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings
- Tap on Account > Privacy
- Toggle off ‘Read Receipts’
With read receipts disabled, you can view status updates without the person getting the “seen” notification. One caveat is that disabling read receipts also prevents you from seeing when other people have viewed your messages and statuses. So it works both ways.
2. Airplane Mode
Similar to disabling read receipts, you can also use Airplane Mode to secretly view WhatsApp statuses. When your phone is in Airplane Mode, you are temporarily disconnected from the internet. This prevents WhatsApp from sending out read notifications when you open statuses.
To use this method:
- Enable Airplane Mode on your phone
- Open WhatsApp and view the status update you want to see
- Once finished viewing, disable Airplane Mode
One caveat is that enabling Airplane Mode will also prevent any of your own statuses from being updated during that time. But it does allow you to silently view other people’s statuses without detection.
3. Use WhatsApp Web
The WhatsApp desktop and web apps allow you to view statuses without triggering read receipts. When using WhatsApp Web scanned through QR code, your views will not show up as “seen” on the other person’s phone.
To use this technique:
- Go to web.whatsapp.com or download WhatsApp Desktop
- Scan the QR code to link your account
- View statuses normally and sender will not be notified
A key advantage of this method is convenience – you don’t have to change any settings on your phone. The one catch is that notifications must be enabled for WhatsApp Web/Desktop. Otherwise, it won’t work.
4. Use a Second Phone Number
You can create a separate WhatsApp account with a different phone number to view statuses anonymously. With a new account, the person won’t know it’s you viewing their update.
To do this:
- Get a secondary phone number – either a spare SIM card or app like Talkatone
- Verify the new number and create a separate WhatsApp account
- On the second account, view the status you want to see
As long as you don’t save the contact in your alternate account, your status views will be completely anonymous. The downside is needing access to a second phone number.
5. Use Third-Party Apps
There are several third-party apps that allow anonymous status viewing on WhatsApp. Some examples include:
- Flychat
- TBH
- Status Saver
These apps work by intercepting WhatsApp network data to extract statuses. They will display statuses anonymously without sending view receipts. However, many of these apps have been banned or stopped working, and WhatsApp discourages using them.
6. View Previews in Notifications
On Android devices, you can view a preview of someone’s status update directly from the notification shade. Pulling down the notification drawer shows a preview of new statuses without opening WhatsApp.
On iPhones, you can view a preview by long pressing on the WhatsApp notification and selecting “View.” This will show a popup with the status preview.
In both cases, as long as you don’t open WhatsApp, the status view won’t be logged. The limitation is that you can only see a preview, not the full status update.
7. Uninstall and Reinstall WhatsApp
If you uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, the app will forget which statuses you’ve already seen. This resets the view receipts, allowing you to view statuses again as if it’s your first time. Here’s how to do it:
- Back up your WhatsApp chats
- Uninstall WhatsApp and delete app data
- Reinstall WhatsApp from the app store
- Restore your chat history from backup
- View statuses – previous views will not show up
The main disadvantage with this method is it’s time consuming to fully uninstall and reinstall the app. Also, your own status history gets erased in the process.
8. Delete or Block the Person
If you delete or block someone as a WhatsApp contact, all of your previous status views for that person also get deleted. So if you unblock them later, you can view their statuses from scratch without detections.
To do this:
- Delete or block the person as a WhatsApp contact
- Later, unblock or re-add the person
- View their statuses – prior views will be gone
The significant catch with this method is you’ll lose the person’s chat history when deleting or blocking them. So you’d have to back up chats first before trying this method.
9. Clear Chat History
Along the same lines, you can selectively clear your chat history with a person to erase previous status views. Here’s how:
- Open the chat with the person
- Tap the More Options menu (3 dots)
- Select Clear Chat History
- Confirm clearing the chat
Clearing the chat will delete all messages, calls, media, and status views from that conversation. You can then open the person’s profile and view status without detections. The limitation is losing chat history.
10. Update WhatsApp Version
When major WhatsApp updates happen, the app can sometimes reset status views and read receipts. For example, when WhatsApp rolled out their controversial privacy policy update, it erased all prior status views for some users.
While not reliable, installing major WhatsApp version updates could potentially reset your status views and allow anonymous re-watching. However, there’s no guarantee it will work.
Conclusion
Viewing WhatsApp statuses without being detected takes a bit of work. The easiest options are disabling read receipts, using WhatsApp Web, or enabling Airplane Mode. However, all these methods have limitations. There is no perfect way to be completely anonymous when viewing statuses.
Ultimately, if you want to maintain trust with your WhatsApp contacts, having open communication is better than viewing statuses secretly. But in certain situations, you may have legitimate reasons for anonymous viewing. Use discretion if trying any techniques to avoid statuses undetected.