WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature that lets you use a snippet of your favourite song as a Status. Once a simple line of text to signify whether you were available to chat, WhatsApp dramatically expanded the scope of its Status to become much closer to Snapchat and Instagram's Stories feature back in 2017.
With the latest tweak, you'll be able to choose from a vast library of songs — from nostalgic hits, new chart-toppers, or maybe that one song that you just can't get out of your head. Once the update has landed on your iPhone or Android app, you can choose up to 15 seconds of music to accompany a photo shared as your WhatsApp Status. That limit increases to 60 seconds if you pair it with a video clip on your WhatsApp Status.
For the first time, WhatsApp users can add up to 60-seconds of their favourite song to accompany a video clip from their life to update friends and family on the chat app about their recent activities
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You can pick the exact part of a track to add to your Status, allowing you to highlight specific lyrics or soundbites. WhatsApp says it's plugged into a music library that contains "millions of songs to choose from", giving you extensive options to personalise your updates.
If this new trick sounds familiar, it's likely because this functionality is already found across Instagram and Facebook, owned by the same parent company as WhatsApp. Run by Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta has started to bring these three immensely-popular apps closer in recent years.
Meta AI can dream-up new images and animated GIFs from a written prompt, with audio and video on the roadmap for the technology in the coming months, Meta has teased META PRESS OFFICEFor example, its Meta AI assistant — which is designed to compete with the likes of ChatGPT and Google Gemini — is now present in Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in the UK.
The roll-out was delayed across European Union countries due to strict privacy laws enforced by the EU. However, Meta AI finally started to become available in 41 European countries as well as 21 overseas territories – the largest global expansion to date — in mid-March.
WhatsApp announced the arrival of its new musical Status updates on March 28, promising that the free update to its 2 billion users across Android and iOS will unlock the new functionality "over the coming weeks".
If you don't see the new WhatsApp Status option yet, check for app updates periodically.
If you want to add a snippet of your favourite song to share with your friends and family on WhatsApp, here's how the new feature works:
- Open WhatsApp
- Tap on the Updates tab in the bottom left-hand corner
- Tap on Add Status
- Choose a Photo or Video to share from your library
- Once that's loaded, look for the newly-added Music Note icon at the top of the screen
- Tap this, and start browsing the built-in song catalogue from Meta
- Search for a specific track, or browse popular options
- Once you've chosen the right song, select the exact portion you want to feature in your Status
- Photos can be paired with up to 15 seconds of audio, while videos allow up to 60 seconds
- Once you've made your selection, tap Done to publish to all of your WhatsApp contacts
In a blog post confirming the launch of the new feature, WhatsApp maintains that its commitment to privacy will not be impacted by the changes to Status.
Everything shared will be secured with end-to-end encryption, so even WhatsApp cannot see what you share or know which songs you've added to your Status.
Only your contacts who can view your Status will be able to see and hear your musical selections.
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As WhatsApp stated: "Your Status is end-to-end encrypted so WhatsApp can't see what you share, and we don't know which songs you add to your Status."
The addition of music to WhatsApp Status echoes similar features already available on Instagram Stories, bringing the messaging app closer to other social media experiences.
This update also taps into internet nostalgia, reminiscent of features once popular on platforms like MySpace and AIM, where users would feature music on their profiles as a way of summarising their feelings or mood.