WhatsApp Status Video Length: Cut Clips So They Fit

As per WhatsApp Help ("About status", checked October 2026), the maximum duration for a status video is 90 seconds. Older WhatsApp pages and guides still quote 30 seconds, and limits can roll out gradually, so check your own app for the current limit. Whatever your app allows, a longer video gets trimmed or split inside WhatsApp, and the cut rarely falls where you would choose. Pick the moment yourself and cut it exactly with trim video, then post one clean status.

What is the limit right now?

WhatsApp rolls changes out gradually, so two phones in the same family can show different limits for a while. The surest check is your own app:

1. Open WhatsApp, go to Updates (or Status) and tap to add a status.
2. Pick a long video from your gallery.
3. The trimming bar at the top shows the longest clip your app accepts.

If you are making a clip in advance and do not know who will post it, keep it to 30 seconds or less to be safe on older app versions, and never over 90 seconds.

Why cutting it yourself is better

When a video is longer than the limit, WhatsApp asks you to trim it with a slider, or splits it into several status updates. Both have problems:

• The slider is fiddly on a small screen, and it's hard to land on the exact second a sentence ends.
• Automatic splits fall at fixed points, often in the middle of a word, a dance step or a punchline.
• Viewers tap through. A video spread over three statuses loses people at every break.

A clip cut on your terms starts on the action and ends on a full stop.

Step 1: Choose the part worth sharing

Good status clips are short and complete:

• A child's first steps, from the wobble to the clap.
• One song from a family function, not the whole evening.
• The cake cutting, the wedding entry or the last over of the match.
• One complete thought from a speech or a sermon, start to finish.

Play the video, pause where the clip should start and note the time (for example 3:10), then where it should end (for example 3:52). Convert both to seconds: minutes × 60 + seconds. That's 190 and 232, a 42-second clip.

Step 2: Cut it

1. Open trim video in your phone's browser and sign in.
2. Enter Start at in seconds (190).
3. Enter End at in seconds (232).
4. Under Choose a file, pick the video from your gallery. MP4, MOV and most other formats work, up to 1 GB and 30 minutes long.
5. Press Start, then Download result. The clip is kept for 1 hour.

The cut is exact to a tenth of a second, and you get an MP4, the format WhatsApp handles best. Videos larger than 1080p, such as 4K recordings, are scaled down to 1080p, which also makes the file smaller.

Step 3: Post it

• Android: the MP4 saves to Downloads and appears in your gallery. In WhatsApp, add a status and pick it.
• iPhone: the clip downloads to the Files app. Open it, tap the share button and choose Save Video, then pick it from Photos in WhatsApp.

Because the clip is already within the limit, WhatsApp posts it as one status with no trimming screen to fight.

Trying it free

Trim video is a pro tool, and only the part you keep counts. A free account can try it whenever the trimmed clip is 30 seconds or less, from a video of any length up to the tool's limits, with 5 free tries a day across all our pro tools. A 25-second highlight from a 20-minute function video is a free try. For clips over 30 seconds, such as a status near the full length, see Pro.

Your video is uploaded to our servers, deleted as soon as it's trimmed, and the clip is deleted after 1 hour.

Want to share the whole thing?

A status is the wrong place for a long video. Some better options:

• Post two or three deliberate clips in a row, each ending at a natural break.
• Send the full video in a chat. WhatsApp limits how big a video file can be, and it compresses videos anyway. To make it smaller first, use the video compressor; see how to compress a video for WhatsApp and email.
• iPhone video won't play for relatives on older Android phones? Convert it with MOV to MP4, or trim it, which outputs MP4 too.

Status tips

• Shorter usually wins. A 15-30 second clip gets watched to the end far more often than a full-length one.
• Vertical fills the screen. Status is shown full-screen on phones, so videos recorded upright look best. Trim video doesn't change the shape; crop video can make it portrait.
• Mind the sound. Many people watch statuses muted at work. If words matter, add a line of text in WhatsApp's editor.
• Check who can see it. Status privacy (My contacts, My contacts except..., Only share with...) is in WhatsApp's status settings.

Posting to Instagram too? Its limits are different; see how long an Instagram Story video can be. For the full trimming guide, see how to trim a video.

Cut your status clip

Note the times in seconds and cut exactly the part you want with trim video. Clips up to 30 seconds can be tried with a free account.