WhatsApp Status video size, format and bitrate
Updated 2026-08-05
For WhatsApp Status, export video at 1080×1920 in the 9:16 portrait frame, around 6 Mbps — 8 Mbps for high-frame-rate footage — using H.264 with AAC audio in an MP4 with faststart enabled. Photos go at 1152×2048 and JPEG quality 0.90. Those are the targets our own device test supports: a raw 1088×1920 clip at ~19.6 Mbps posted directly to Status kept fine sign text legible on the viewer’s side, so pre-shrinking to “beat the compressor” now costs you quality rather than saving it.
Most pages answering this query give you a resolution and stop. Bitrate is the field they leave empty, and it is the number that decides whether 1080p looks like video or like a slideshow of blocks. Here are both, along with what each path into Status is actually understood to do.
What each path does, and what backs it
| Path | What it does to the file | Best evidence we have |
|---|---|---|
| Status composer (the only pipeline Status has) | Re-encodes on upload | Our device test: a 1088×1920 clip at ~19.6 Mbps stayed legible viewer-side. The photo path was not separately tested |
| Share sheet → “My Status” | Opens the same Status editor, same pipeline | Reported |
| Chat send | Re-encodes on upload, lighter at HD upload quality | Reported: video caps at 720p; photos near 4096 px on the long edge, with sources conflicting between 3000 and 4096 |
| Chat send as a Document | No re-encode — byte-exact, up to 2 GB | Reported, and beside the point: documents cannot reach Status |
| Forward a chat message → My Status | No new upload and no re-encode | Community-reported mechanic; our test showed no visible difference from posting directly |
What VividStatus encodes to
| Preset | Output | Rate / quality | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video — standard | 1080×1920 (true 9:16) | ~6 Mbps video, 128 kbps AAC | The default for the one-tap path |
| Video — high motion | 1080×1920 | ~8 Mbps video, 128 kbps AAC | Chosen automatically for high-frame-rate HD sources |
| Photo | 1152×2048 | JPEG quality 0.90 | Photos on the same path |
The container settings that matter
Use H.264 video with AAC audio, wrapped in an MP4 with faststart enabled so the header sits at the front of the file. A keyframe every two seconds is a sensible interval for clips this short. Keep the aspect ratio at a true 9:16 and let the pixel dimensions follow from that — 1080×1920 is an exact 9:16 frame, which is why it is the number worth remembering.
There is no published file-size limit for a Status video, and no size below which the upload skips its encode. Length is the constraint that actually bites: WhatsApp raised the Status cap to 90 seconds from 2025, but it arrives inconsistently — many people still see 30 seconds, and odd intermediate caps get reported depending on version and region. Anything beyond the cap is silently trimmed off rather than continued.
Over all of it sits the one rule no export setting changes: WhatsApp decides the final encode after upload.
Four specs claims worth correcting
- “Status crushes everything to about 480p” — The claim most of this category is built on, and the one our device test contradicts on a current iOS build. If a page’s export advice exists to dodge a 480p ceiling, the advice inherits the error.
- “Under 10 MB avoids compression” — Unsupported anywhere in the research. No documented threshold makes the upload skip its encode — and a 30-second clip at 6 Mbps lands well above 10 MB, which is the correct trade rather than a problem.
- “1080p recommended” — with no bitrate given — 1080p is a reasonable target; our own presets use it. But resolution without a bitrate is not a specification. A 1080p export at a starved bitrate looks worse than a well-encoded smaller frame, and no resolution defeats compression — the pages repeating this figure almost never say what to pair it with.
- “Enable HD before posting your Status” — There is no Status-specific HD control, and on the current iOS build we tested there is no per-send HD badge either — media upload quality is a global setting under Settings → Storage and Data → Media upload quality, and it governs chat sends.
Why the target moved up rather than down
The long-standing advice was to encode small: if the platform is going to crush your file anyway, match its low ceiling so the second transcode has nothing to take. That reasoning is sound in general — pre-encoding at or below a platform’s own output parameters does make a second transcode close to visually transparent — but it depends entirely on where the ceiling actually sits.
When we tested it directly rather than assuming, a demanding 1080p source survived the direct Status post intact. Encoding down to 480p against that would make our export, not WhatsApp, the thing degrading your video. So the presets went up: 1080×1920 at 6–8 Mbps, chosen to sit at the level current delivery appears to preserve. If future testing on slow networks or other platforms shows something different, the numbers should move again — they are targets derived from evidence, not a fixed law.
Where VividStatus fits
You can hit every number on this page with a desktop encoder and a cable. VividStatus exists because the video is already on the phone: it applies these presets on device, fits the source to a true 9:16 frame first, splits anything over the cap into ordered parts, and hands the result to WhatsApp.
VividStatus is an iPhone app that prepares photos and videos for WhatsApp Status: it fits them to the exact 9:16 frame, splits longer clips into ordered parts sized to what your WhatsApp actually accepts, and hands them to WhatsApp in one tap — entirely on device, with no watermark, no ads and no account.
The preset table above is published as what VividStatus encodes to. It does not claim to beat WhatsApp’s compression, does not claim an untouched original arrives at the other end, and does not route your media through anyone’s server.
Spec questions
What resolution should I export for WhatsApp Status?
1080×1920 — a true 9:16 portrait frame. Our device test found a source at that resolution came through legible on the viewer’s side, so there is no reason to pre-shrink it.
What bitrate should I use?
Around 6 Mbps for ordinary footage and about 8 Mbps for high-frame-rate or fast-moving material, with AAC audio at 128 kbps. Those are the values our shipped presets use.
Which format does WhatsApp Status accept?
H.264 video with AAC audio in an MP4 is the safe combination, with faststart enabled so playback can begin before the whole file is read.
Is there a maximum file size for a Status video?
No size limit is published for Status specifically, and the widely repeated 10 MB threshold is unsupported. Length is the real constraint, not bytes.
How long can a Status video be?
WhatsApp raised the cap to 90 seconds from 2025, but it lands inconsistently — many users still see 30 seconds, and other caps get reported depending on app version and region. Anything over your cap is trimmed off silently, so split a long clip into parts rather than letting the end disappear.