Whatsapp is changing the regulation of the 24-hour status. Image: EPA
WhatsApp is changing who can see your status. In the future, a single chat will be enough – even without a saved number. What users should check now.
March 3, 2026, 5:48 p.mMarch 3, 2026, 5:48 p.m
Marcel Horzenek / t-online
Whatsapp has fundamentally changed the rules for his status: Anyone who recently wrote to someone or spoke to someone on the phone via Messenger will be able to see their posts in the future – and be seen themselves – even if the corresponding number is not saved in the address book.
According to the WABetaInfo portal, which specializes in WhatsApp innovations, the new function will be gradually rolled out in selected countries for Android, iOS and the web version. The prerequisite is the current app version. The evaluation of which numbers were last used for a conversation is carried out directly on the device. According to the report, WhatsApp does not store this data on its own servers.
To ensure that unknown senders remain recognizable, WhatsApp wants to mark corresponding status posts with a tilde (~) in front of the displayed name and telephone number. If there is no name in the contacts, only the number appears instead.
The 24-hour status on Whatsapp will soon also be visible to unknown contacts.Image: Screenshot
Privacy settings are becoming increasingly important
Anyone who previously selected “My contacts” or “My contacts except…” in the privacy settings will automatically share their status with recently contacted numbers that have not been saved. Only the “Only share with …” option remains unaffected, they say. Recipients can still be specified manually; random chat partners are left out in this case.
If you don’t want to see status posts from delivery services, tradesmen or other short-term contacts, you can hide or block individual numbers at any time. Hiding a post will prevent future viewing of that number without blocking the contact.
Step towards a more open platform
According to “WABetaInfo”, the update is part of a larger strategy by the parent company Meta. The company is planning this Introduction of unique usernamesthrough which people could communicate with each other in the future without revealing their telephone number. In order to make this possible, WhatsApp would have to separate status visibility from the pure address book binding – similar to what is already the case with platforms such as Instagram or Telegram.
At the same time, WhatsApp is also working on a new representation of the status in the chat area: In the future, new posts should appear directly in the chat overview and no longer exclusively in the separate “Current” tab. A horizontal status bar in the chat tab is also in development, according to the report. Both functions are not yet available to all users.
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