The Whatsapp status of the contacts can be exciting – but you don’t always want the sender to know that you were watching. There are tricks to prevent this.
What is the “story” on Instagram is simply called “status” on WhatsApp. And although the function initially received a lot of criticism and had major teething problems, more and more people are using the status to share current experiences with their contacts. Because unlike the case with Instagram, the status is only shared with people who have the mobile phone number – and not with the world public.
In addition, as a sender you get a practical list of those who have viewed the status – since a read receipt is sent with every click. However, this is exactly what can be prevented. Because maybe it’s embarrassing or inappropriate if you regularly look at the stories of the love you passed – because you still have the number in the address book.
Using Whatsapp anonymously limits functions
The easiest way to read stories anonymously is through the app’s privacy settings. Simply navigate in the settings to the “Account” menu, then “Privacy” and there to “Read Receipts”. As soon as you deactivate this item, other people will no longer know that you have read a message or viewed a status. However, this setting comes with a disadvantage: If you no longer disclose what you read and watch, you will no longer know who is reading your messages or checking your status.
For emergencies – and without any disadvantages for you – there are more tips floating around on the Internet. But: Most of the time, these instructions work poorly or have major disadvantages. For example, it is advised to watch status posts in flight mode and without a WiFi connection. Assuming the content loads, Whatsapp would send all confirmations after the connection was restored. What should help: After viewing the content anonymously, delete the app, restore internet, reinstall the app. A huge effort that is hardly worth it, especially since Whatsapp limits the number of possible new installations.
The same applies to viewing the news in the web browser without an internet connection. Theoretically, this is even possible, but due to a lack of data flow, the images do not load – you only see text.
Wait at least 24 hours
In very urgent cases, the following tip has proven useful if you cannot live with the disadvantages of missing read receipts: If you have viewed a status anonymously and with deactivated read receipts, wait until the status disappears automatically after 24 hours. If you only then reactivate the read receipts function, Whatsapp cannot register you later and the sender will not know that you have looked in.
