How to Disable WhatsApp New Status Feature On Android

Just last week WhatsApp rolled out an update to its app in which status messages were replaced by Stories similar to that found on Instagram and Facebook. We guess Facebook saw how well-received the feature was on Instagram and decided to replicate it on WhatsApp, although we're guessing not everyone is necessarily a fan.

The good news is that if you don't like this change and would much rather disable it, you'll be pleased to learn that there is now a guide in which it will teach you how to disable it. However note that this guide is aimed only at Android users and it will require users to own a rooted device, so if you aren't either of these things then we guess you'll just have to live with it.

The guide was put together by XDA forum member GokuINC and can be found on the XDA forums. It appears to be pretty straightforward and simple, but like we said you will need a rooted device so if you don't, you'll need to root it first and that will be a completely separate guide depending on your device.

If you're one of the guys who's hating the new "WhatsApp Status" feature like me, this post is for you!!

Requirements:

1. ROOTed device

2. Any Root File Explorer or SharedPreferences Editor

Steps:

0. Force Stop WhatsApp before proceeding.

1. a. For Root Explorers, open the file '/data/data/com.whatsapp/shared_prefs/com.whatsapp_preferences.xml'

b. For SharedPreference Editors, select 'WhatsApp' and then select 'com.whatsapp_preferences'.

2. Find the key name: 'status_mode' and edit its value from '1' and make it as '0'.

For text editors, change

Code:

<int name=”status_mode” value=”1”./>

to:

      Code:

<int name=”status_mode” value=”0”./>

3. Now, launch WhatsApp and see if there's a difference

Note: This is currently working in version 2.17.81.. This may or may not work with future WhatsApp updates. It may require you to do these steps again :/

As is the case with all attempts at tweaking your phone and apps, do proceed with caution. That being said for those who do miss text status updates, it was recently discovered in the latest WhatsApp beta that text status messages could be making a return in future versions of the app.

Read more about Android, Apps and Whatsapp.