WhatsApp Status
Captions for WhatsApp Status, read in one hand.
Ninety seconds, no sound, small screen, thumb over the bottom of the frame. Captions sized and placed for exactly that.
WhatsApp Status videos are capped at 90 seconds and are almost always watched muted, one-handed, on a phone — so captions have to be burned into the file, larger than feed captions, and placed above the reply bar at the bottom of the screen.
WhatsApp Status is the most-watched short video format in India and one of the least designed for. There is no caption field, no algorithm to please and no analytics to optimise — just a 90-second clip that someone taps through with their thumb resting over the bottom of the screen, almost always with the sound off because they are in a shop, on a train, or in a room with other people.
That combination changes what a good caption looks like. Bigger than you would use on Reels. Fewer words at a time. Nowhere near the bottom of the frame. And in the language your contacts actually read — which, for most of India, means Hinglish in Roman letters rather than either formal Hindi or English.
The whole 90 seconds fits the free plan
WhatsApp Status caps at 90 seconds. The free plan takes videos up to 2 minutes, so a Status clip never needs a paid plan for length.
Hinglish in Roman letters
Mixed Hindi-English speech written the way your contacts read it — a first-class mode, not English transcription with Hindi words mangled into it.
Real Devanagari when you want it
Hindi captions render in proper हिंदी script with word-level timing, including in the handwriting styles set in Kalam.
Placed above the reply bar
Status puts a reply field across the bottom of the screen. Drag captions into the middle band and nothing gets covered.
What is different about a Status clip
Status is a private-ish broadcast to people who already know you: customers, family, a class, a society group, a client list. Nobody is discovering you here, so the hook matters less and the information matters more. Most Status video is an offer, an announcement, a demonstration or a message — content where getting the words across is the entire job.
- Ninety seconds, hard
- WhatsApp caps Status video at 90 seconds. Anything longer is split or trimmed by WhatsApp, usually not where you would have chosen.
- Muted by default in practice
- Status is watched in public far more than in private. Assume no audio and let the captions carry the message.
- Bottom of the screen is the reply bar
- Keep captions in the middle band. A caption at the bottom of the frame competes with the reply field and the thumb resting on it.
- Language is Hinglish more often than not
- For most Indian audiences, Hindi-English mixed in Roman letters reads faster than either pure Hindi script or pure English.
Bigger text, fewer words
A Status clip is watched at phone size with no option to scrub back — one tap forward and the moment is gone. That is a stricter reading constraint than any feed, and the fix is not a bigger font on its own. It is fewer words on screen at once, so each caption is a glance rather than a read.
The pace control changes how many words gather into a cue before it turns over, and for Status the setting that works is noticeably slower and shorter than the one that works on Reels. Combine it with a high-contrast style from the Bold lane, or a card from the Cards lane if the footage behind is busy.
How it works
Record or drop in your clip
Up to 90 seconds for Status; the free plan covers 2 minutes. Your video never leaves your phone.
Choose Hinglish, Hindi or English
Pick the spoken language before transcription. Hinglish returns Roman-script text for Hindi-English mixed speech.
Style, place and export
Big type, few words, sitting in the middle band. Export burned-in and post it straight to Status.
Common questions
How long can a WhatsApp Status video be?
Ninety seconds. WhatsApp’s own help documentation gives 90 seconds as the maximum duration for a Status video; longer files get trimmed or split, and rarely at a point you would have chosen. LumaCaption’s free plan handles videos up to 2 minutes, so a full-length Status clip never requires a paid plan.
Can I add Hinglish captions?
Yes. Hinglish is a first-class mode: Hindi-English mixed speech transcribed and written in Roman letters, which is how most Indian audiences read comfortably. It is built for code-switching rather than being a translation of Hindi output, so the English words in your sentence stay English.
Where should captions go on a Status video?
The middle band of the frame. WhatsApp puts a reply field across the bottom of the screen while Status is playing, and viewers rest a thumb there. Captions in the lower third are covered or ignored; captions in the middle third are read.
Do I need an app to do this on my phone?
No. LumaCaption runs in the phone browser and installs to the home screen if you want it there. There is no app store download, and the video you caption is never uploaded — only the audio is used to work out the words.
