How to Add Music to Your WhatsApp Status on iPhone and Android

A photo status is easy to scroll past. The same photo with the right song underneath it stops people — a birthday picture with the chorus kicking in, a sunset with a slow track behind it. WhatsApp now lets you add that music inside the status editor, from its own song library, without another app. The catch is that the feature only works on photo and video statuses, only on your phone, and it has not reached every country yet.

What you need before you start

The music feature is built into WhatsApp, so there is nothing to install, but four things have to be true before the icon appears:

• You are on an iPhone or an Android phone. WhatsApp's help pages say you need an iOS or Android device for now — you cannot add music to a status on WhatsApp Web or the desktop app.
• WhatsApp is up to date. The feature arrived in stages, and older versions may not show the music icon at all. Update from the App Store or Google Play first.
• You are making a photo or video status. Music cannot be added to text, GIF or voice statuses.
• The feature has reached your country and account. WhatsApp says music on Status is not yet available in some countries, and even in a supported country it may not have reached you yet.

Add music to a photo or video status

The steps are the same on iPhone and Android, following WhatsApp's own help page:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap Updates.
2. Tap Add status (or My status, then the add button) and pick a photo or video from your gallery, or take a new one with the camera.
3. Tap the music note icon in the editing tools to open the music browser.
4. Tap the search bar to search by song, artist or keyword, pick a starred song, or scroll down to browse popular songs in your country.
5. Tap the play button to preview a song, or tap the song itself to add it to your status.
6. Use the progress bar to select the section of the song you want — the chorus, not the quiet intro.
7. Tap the music sticker to change how it looks (see the styles below), then tap Done.
8. Tap and hold the sticker to move and resize it, tap it again to go back to the music editor, then post your status.

Make a status that is only music

You do not have to start with a picture. If you simply want to share a track you are listening to, WhatsApp has a shortcut that posts the song with its album artwork and no photo of your own:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap Updates.
2. Tap the add button, then choose Music.
3. Search for a song, or scroll the popular ones, then preview it and tap it to add it.
4. Pick the section with the progress bar, choose a sticker style, tap Done, and post.

The result is a status built around the song itself — the artwork fills the screen and the music plays over it. The same 15-second limit applies, since this is treated like an image status.

How long the music plays

The length depends on what kind of status you are posting, and this is the detail most people get wrong:

A photo status only ever gets a short clip, so pick the most recognisable part of the song — usually the chorus. If you want a longer stretch of a track to play, you need a video that long: a 90-second video status carries up to 90 seconds of music with it.

Pick the right part of the song and style the sticker

The progress bar is where a good music status is made. Drag it to the section people will recognise in the first two seconds — a chorus, a hook, a famous opening line. A slow intro wastes most of a 15-second clip before the song even starts.

The sticker that shows the song is part of the look, and WhatsApp offers several styles. Tap the sticker in the editor to switch between them:

• Lyrics sticker — shows the words of the song as they play, where lyrics are available for that song.
• Vertical or horizontal music sticker — a compact bar with the song title and artist.
• Vinyl sticker — the track shown as a spinning record.
• Cassette sticker — the track shown as a retro cassette.
• Remove — hides the sticker entirely, so the music plays with no visible label.

Tap and hold the sticker to move it somewhere it does not cover the main subject of your photo, and pinch or drag to resize it. If the lyrics option does not appear, lyrics are simply not available for that song — not every track has them.

Use a song from someone else's status

Heard a track on a friend's status and want the same song on yours? You do not have to search for it. While viewing their status, tap the music sticker (or the song title at the top of the screen), then choose Add status with music. A new status opens with that song already selected — add your own photo or video, adjust the section with the progress bar, and post.

The same sticker also leads to the artist: tap the song name and choose View Artist to read about them, though that may take you out of WhatsApp.

If the music icon is missing

Work through these before assuming the app is broken:

1. You are posting a text, GIF or voice status. Music only works on photo and video statuses. Start again with a photo or video.
2. WhatsApp is out of date. Update it from your app store — older versions may not show the icon.
3. You are on WhatsApp Web or desktop. The feature is for iPhone and Android phones only. Open the phone app instead.
4. You are in the Business app. The music choice there is restricted, and the icon may look different or be missing for some songs.
5. The feature has not reached you yet. WhatsApp says music on Status is not available in every country, and even in a supported country it may not have reached your account. There is no setting that turns it on, so waiting for the rollout is the only fix.

If the icon appears but a particular song will not play, the track may be unavailable in your country. WhatsApp shows a "this song is unavailable" notice for those — pick a different song rather than re-adding the same one.

After posting: what you can and cannot change

A status stays up for 24 hours, and once it is posted you cannot change its photo, its video, or its music. The only edit WhatsApp allows is the caption, and only within 15 minutes of posting. If the song is wrong, the practical fix is to delete that status and post it again with the right one: go to Updates, then My status, tap the status, open the menu and choose Delete. You cannot delete several statuses at once, so remove just the one with the wrong track.

Who sees the music status is decided by your Status privacy setting, not by the song. Our guide to hiding your WhatsApp Status from specific contacts explains the three privacy options — My contacts, My contacts except, and Only share with — and what hiding does not change. And if your statuses keep saving copies to your gallery, our guide to stopping WhatsApp photos saving to your gallery covers the setting that controls that.

FAQ