Want to add music to your WhatsApp status? Here's how

Music added to an image will play for up to 15 seconds.

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that allows users to add music to their status updates.

How it works

To add music to your status, you will first need to select a photo or video you want to share.

Then, tap the music icon at the top of the screen, search for a song or artist, or choose a song from your phone's gallery, and finally, tap the arrow next to the selected song to add it to your status.

Users can also add music from someone else’s status. To do this; Tap the song name displayed at the top of the status, and select "Add Status with Music" from the menu.

Alternatively, if you just want to learn more about a song, tap its name or the three-dot menu to view details outside WhatsApp.

The new feature also enables you to choose the specific part of the song that you would like to use on their status.

Music added to an image will play for up to 15 seconds, while music added to a video will last for the duration of the video, up to 60 seconds

The new feature guards privacy since the status is end-to-end encrypted, hence WhatsApp cannot see the songs added to the status.

Furthermore, Meta will be receiving anonymous information about the songs added to status to facilitate payment to music rights holders. 

Limitations

You cannot add music to text, Graphic Interchange Format (GIFs), or voice status updates.

Other limitations include the feature only being accessible on iOS and Android devices.

Music choices available in the app might vary depending on the country the user is based in.

WhatsApp has advised users to keep updating their apps to integrate new features as soon as they roll out.