When you view a status in WhatsApp, a copy of the photo, video or voice note is written to your phone. That copy sits in a hidden folder until WhatsApp deletes it, about a day later. These are the exact paths.
The folders
| App | Android 11 and newer | Older phones |
|---|---|---|
Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media/.Statuses |
WhatsApp/Media/.Statuses |
|
| WhatsApp Business | Android/media/com.whatsapp.w4b/WhatsApp Business/Media/.Statuses |
WhatsApp Business/Media/.Statuses |
All paths start from your phone’s internal storage (sometimes shown as
/storage/emulated/0 or /sdcard).
WhatsApp moved its media into Android/media when Android 11 arrived, because
of the new storage rules. On a phone that was upgraded from an older version,
you may still see an old WhatsApp folder at the top of your storage; new
statuses no longer go there.
Why the folder is hidden
The folder name starts with a dot: .Statuses. On Android, a dot at the start
of a name marks a folder as hidden. Gallery apps do not scan it, so statuses do
not fill up your photos, and file managers only show it when you turn on
show hidden files.
What is inside
- Only statuses you have viewed. Opening a status in WhatsApp is what puts it on your phone. A status you skipped is not there.
- Photos, videos and voice notes, as ordinary files.
- No names. The files are named by date and number, not by who posted them.
How long the files stay
WhatsApp deletes each copy about a day after it writes it. A status also disappears for everyone 24 hours after it is posted, and if the person deletes it earlier, WhatsApp may remove your copy too. So the folder is always a rolling, one-day window.
How to open the folder
- With a file manager: turn on hidden files, then open the path above. The guide How to save a WhatsApp status without an app walks through it.
- With Selu: the app opens Android’s folder picker at this exact place. You tap Use this folder and Allow once, and every status you view shows up in a grid, newest first, with a countdown to when WhatsApp deletes it.
Where saved statuses go
Saving a status copies the file out of the hidden folder into a normal one, so it stays after WhatsApp deletes the original. Selu uses:
| Type | Folder |
|---|---|
| Photos | Pictures/StatusSaver |
| Videos | Movies/StatusSaver |
| Voice statuses | Music/StatusSaver |
Any gallery or file manager can open them, Google Photos can back them up, and they stay if you uninstall the app. The Storage screen in Selu’s Tools shows how much space they use.
