Post WhatsApp Status Updates via API
Status posts expire after 24 hours and reach the contacts who already have your number. The official API has no way to publish one. Wapito posts them from a linked number, text, image or video alike.
Can the official WhatsApp Cloud API do this?
No. Status does not exist in the official API.
Read the full comparisonHow it works
Post a text card, or upload media once and post it as an image, video or voice status with a caption that carries the detail.
Post a text card
A text status is a short line on a coloured background. Keep it under a couple of dozen words: the card is read in a second by someone tapping through, not studied.
API reference for this stepUpload the image or video
Upload once and reuse the media id if you post the same asset to status and to a channel. Portrait assets fill the screen; landscape ones are letterboxed and look like an afterthought.
API reference for this stepPost the media status
Attach the uploaded media with a caption. This is the format shops use for a daily menu or new stock, because the picture does the work and the caption carries the price or the time.
API reference for this stepPost a voice status
A short voice note as a status is unusual enough to get attention and personal enough to be worth it occasionally. The audio must be Opus-encoded, the same as a voice message.
API reference for this step
curl --request POST \
--url https://api.wapito.com/v1/stories/text \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer wpt_YOUR_TOKEN' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{"body":"Workshop closed Friday for stocktake. Orders ship Monday.","background_color":"#0B7F5C","font":2,"contacts":["+15551234567","+15559876543"]}'Endpoints
Webhook events
messagesMessage sent or receivedonMessages()messages.statusDelivery receipt for a sent messageonMessagesStatus()
What you can build with it
- Daily menu for a restaurant
A kitchen posts a photo of the day's specials at eleven each morning, generated from the same list that feeds the website. Regulars who saved the number see it while deciding on lunch, without the restaurant sending anybody a message.
- Stock arrivals for a small shop
When new stock is booked into the inventory system, an automation posts a picture and the price to status. The shop reaches the customers who already care, and there is no list to maintain and no opt-out to manage.
- Service updates for a field team
A maintenance company posts the day's coverage area as a text card each morning. Customers who saved the number see whether the team is nearby, which reduces the number of people phoning to ask.
What the official WhatsApp Cloud API does here
Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API is built for business messaging: templates, customer-service windows and per-conversation pricing. A large part of what WhatsApp itself can do — groups, channels, status, presence, contact lookups — has no endpoint there at all, which is why so many teams end up looking past it. Everything below is checked against Meta's own published reference, with the link and the date we checked it.
Not possible on the Cloud API
No. Status does not exist in the official API.
Meta's Cloud API documents no status or story endpoints. A business on the official platform cannot post to the updates strip at all, which matters because status reaches saved contacts without landing in an inbox - a materially different channel from a message.
Paraphrase (not a verbatim quote), checked against the Cloud API reference index: no status or story node appears in the reference.
The official workaround
None. Status is posted from the phone by a person, which rules out scheduling and rules out posting the same update across several numbers.
Wapito is an independent product. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by WhatsApp or Meta Platforms, Inc. WhatsApp is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc.
Gotchas
- Only contacts who have saved your number can see a status, and their own privacy settings apply on top, so reach is bounded by your contact list rather than by anything you control.
- Statuses expire after a day and there is no delivery report, so measure the effect off WhatsApp - a code in the caption or a link you control - rather than expecting metrics from the platform.
Tutorials by language
Automations and integrations
Frequently asked questions
Who actually sees my status?
People who have saved your number in their contacts and have not restricted status from you. There is no subscriber list and no way to add someone, so growing reach means getting more people to save your number - which is a marketing problem rather than an API one.
Can I schedule status posts?
Not inside WhatsApp, but that is exactly what the API is for: run a scheduler on your side and call the endpoint at the moment you want the post to appear. Since statuses expire after a day, posting at the right hour matters more here than for almost anything else.
Does posting status count as sending?
It is activity on the linked number and is paced through the same queue, so treat it as part of your daily budget rather than as free. It does not consume a per-recipient send the way a broadcast would, which is part of why it is an efficient way to reach saved contacts.
Can I see who viewed a status?
Viewer lists are a client feature and are not exposed as a reliable API surface, so plan as though you cannot measure views. Put a discount code or a link in the caption if you need to know whether the post worked; that signal is yours and it does not depend on the platform.
Related
Try it on your own number
Create a channel, link a WhatsApp number by QR or pairing code, and call the API in a couple of minutes. The Sandbox plan is free and needs no card.