WhatsApp could let you hide ‘last seen’ status from individual contacts

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WhatsApp last seen status option
A new "My Contacts Except..." option has been spotted in the WhatsApp beta.
Photo: WABetaInfo

WhatsApp could soon give users the ability to hide their “last seen” status from individual contacts. Evidence of the change has already popped up in WhatsApp beta releases ahead of its rollout on Android and iOS.

If you want to hide your last seen status from one WhatsApp contact today, you must hide it from everyone. It’s not possible to leave certain contacts in the dark while sharing your activity status with those you trust the most.

But as part of a privacy settings overhaul currently under development, WhatsApp could give users greater control over which contacts can see when they were last online.

WhatsApp plans changes for ‘last seen’ status

A screenshot from a beta version of WhatsApp for iOS, published by WABetaInfo, reveals a new option — “My Contacts Except…” — could soon be added to the last seen preferences menu on both Android and iPhone.

Selecting this option allows users to choose which of their contacts are excluded from seeing their activity status. It also excludes them from seeing a user’s profile picture and their “about” information.

As is currently the case, disabling this information for specific contacts will also block you from seeing their status, image, and about information.

Under development

It should be noted that WhatsApp frequently tests new features and improvements in its beta releases, and not all of them make it into final versions of the app. So, there’s no guarantee this feature will launch.

However, this is a feature a large number of WhatsApp users would likely take advantage of, and it would go some way to improving the app’s limited privacy controls.

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