Can I See Who Viewed My WhatsApp Story and Status

The WhatsApp status has been a clear favorite among the masses since its inception. Whether it’s sharing one’s actual status (remember Busy, or On Call?) or sending across a secret message (that only a select few could understand), WhatsApp status has served a myriad of purposes.

When status made its debut in March 2017, people were aware of the Stories on Instagram, Snapchat, and even Facebook. Soon WhatsApp status grabbed over 450 million daily users in early 2018, and the number continues to grow.

WhatsApp status lets you share snippets of your life in the form of images and tastefully done captions. However, the thought must have crossed your mind if you can see who has viewed your WhatsApp status or story. There’s no harm in checking if your contacts are conversant with the happenings in your life. After all, most of us spend a considerable amount of time in crafting a beautiful status, be it applying a simple image filter or adding a different font from another app.

Can I or Can I Not?

Yes, Whatsapp lets you know if someone has viewed your story. The little eye-icon at the bottom reveals the details about who has seen your WhatsApp status and when. Just swipe up on the icon to check.

However, there’s a catch to this. You can’t see the names of everyone who has viewed your story. Just the other day, my friend told me that she can’t see my name in her Viewed by list, even when I replied to her story. Strange? Well, not so.

WhatsApp Status Viewed by feature works in conjunction with the app’s read receipts (yeah, those dreaded blue ticks). So, if the person on the other end has disabled Read receipts for their WhatsApp account, you won’t be able to see their name on your Viewed by list. Just like the Last Seen feature in WhatsApp.

It also works the other way around. If you have disabled the read receipts, you won’t be able to see when someone has viewed your story. Yes, the whole world works on barter.

Who Can See Your Updates

So, even if you can’t see who has viewed your story, does it mean that anyone can view your WhatsApp Story? By default, only those who have your number saved in their phone’s contact book will be able to see your WhatsApp story. But that’s not all. You also need to have their numbers saved in your contact book as well.

Also, you can select the audience of your WhatsApp Status. The messaging platform allows you three options:

• My contacts
• My contacts except
• Only share with

As suggestive of the name, the first option lets all your contacts see your status.

Whereas, with the second option you can bar a few of your non-favorites from seeing what’s happening in your life. So yeah, you can block people from viewing your status for good. Quite naturally, the third option is a tad similar to Instagram’s Close Friends feature since it only shares your status with your favorite people.

You can block people from viewing your status for good

So yes, you get to pick your audience. However, do keep in mind that the privacy changes will hold true for your future statuses. Meaning that even when you have barred your nosy colleague, they will still be able to see your past statuses. The only good news is that it’ll vanish after 24 hours.

To change your Status Privacy, go to the Status tab, tap on the three-dot icon, and select your options.

What About Third-Party App Alternatives?

Now that the in-app function is out of the picture, what about third-party apps? From time to time, we come across WhatsApp add-ons that claim to reveal everything under the sun. WhatsApp claims to be an end-to-end encrypted service, and the API doesn’t share such information with third-party apps.

Even if you were to discover such apps, the best idea is to ignore because you never know how these apps will handle your data. Just to be able to see the name and number of viewers by sacrificing privacy is an absurd idea in itself. And even if such apps were to exist, I would doubt the authenticity of the content, given the encrypted nature of WhatsApp.

Cool Alternative? Maybe Try Instagram Stories

If you’re still hell-bent on tracking your status visitors for business purposes, WhatsApp may not be the best platform to market your goods; Instagram is. With charming new stickers and features, Instagram Stories are way cooler and much easier to use. Plus, it’s simple to track your followers and viewers.

All you need to do is create a public profile. Once you’ve posted a story, a simple swipe on it will reveal more details.

So, coming back to the question.

Can I See Who Viewed My WhatsApp Story and Status?

Yes, WhatsApp lets you see the names of your status viewers. However, it doesn’t display every viewer’s name. Some of these names are supposed to stay hidden and rightly so. After all, they have opted for it. But make no mistake, they can still see your status, and you’ll never know about it.

I am not a big fan of WhatsApp status. My phonebook carries several contacts, and the chances are equally good that at least 30% of them have my number saved in their phones as well. And this 30% contacts aren’t my close friends, family, relatives or colleagues.

So if I carelessly share a picture without checking the privacy options, that picture would make it to their phones. Once that happens, we all know how easy it is to download it from there.