A social networking system user (“sending user”) identifies a content item to the social networking system and also identifies one or more additional social networking system users (“receiving users”) to be presented with a content item. The social networking system communicates the content item to client devices for presentation to the receiving users. An interface identifying the receiving users and a status associated with each receiving user is presented to the sending user. The status associated with a receiving user describes how the receiving user interacted with the content item, and may be updated to reflect subsequent interactions with the content item by a receiving user.