WhatsApp: how to read the status of a contact without them knowing
Yes: even WhatsApp has stories now, which it calls Status. If you don’t want to get burned by looking at a contact’s status, here are our tips.
For some, “social networks” are limited to applications that define themselves in this way. We therefore have the Facebook, Instagram and other Twitters of this world. But in the purest definition, these are just apps that allow us to interact with our social circle. And in which case, chat apps are just as much social media as any other. It’s not for nothing that Snapchat exploded, while its concept is ultimately very centered on its own circle. WhatsApp knows this, and that’s why it started to integrate the principle of stories on its application.
Except here, these stories are called “Status”, which can be images, videos, or GIFs with embedded messages. They even have the right to their own dedicated tab on the application. And just like messages on WhatsApp, they send all sorts of read notifications to anyone who opens a contact’s Status. But don’t worry: there’s always a way to get around the rules. Let us explain the trick to you.
Read also: WhatsApp – tips and tricks you absolutely need to know
See a WhatsApp Status without the contact knowing
Disable read receipt
Some people don’t know this, but it’s entirely possible to disable all platform acknowledgments. Warning: if you make this choice, your friends will find you strange in one way, and you will also no longer have access to acknowledgments of receipt on your side. It is therefore a double-edged sword.
At least… as far as messages go. To see a Status discreetly, nothing prevents you from deactivating the read receipt, going to see the Status in peace, and reactivating them afterwards. Easy as pie !
On Android as on iPhone, you will need:
- Go to app WhatsApp
- Press the three small dots at the top right, then Settings / Go in “Settings” on iOS
- Choose option Accountthen Privacy
- Uncheck “Read receipts”
To reactivate the acknowledgements, you will only have to return to this parameter and recheck the option concerned.
Go through a file explorer
On Android, you have the option of seeing all the files that pass through your smartphone. And since WhatsApp needs to truly download locally all the files it uses, even Status, you can see them directly… in your favorite file explorer.
To be sure to see these files, you will need enable display of system folders. This choice can be found in your file browser settings.
Then head to the root folder Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media > .Statuses
There you go: all the statuses are there! So yes, this technique is a little more technically advanced than all the others, but it is also the most discreet of all.
Go through WhatsApp on the web
So there, you really have to be motivated since you have to go through… your computer. Anyone else, as long as they can access the web version of WhatsApp.
The web interface allows you to see the Statuses of your contacts. But if you connect to the service in private browsingthat you load the page, then that you cut off your Wi-Fi and any other internet connection… The read receipt will not be sent.
Yes: ordinarily, the browser would store the information in your cookies and send it when you reconnect to the Internet. But since you’re in private browsing, these data will not be stored at the end of your session.
