Oliver Mitchell

WhatsApp: Hide Last Seen Selectively

WhatsApp is finally rolling out its new privacy feature. If this catches on following the beta testing period, you’ll be able to hide your last seen status from certain contacts. The feature was first announced six months ago, but it was in development back then. From now on, you can take part in the testing as long as you have version 22.9.0.70 of WhatsApp. The steps to take in order to make use of this latest innovation is to go to the Privacy section in Settings, select Last Seen, and choose the options available. These are Everyone, My Contacts, Nobody, and My Contacts Except… It’s the last option that enables you to filter out some of the people on your contact list with whom you don’t want to share your history of using WhatsApp.

The information comes from WABetaInfo, a website that published information on WhatsApp features in beta testing. In its post dedicated to the new privacy feature, WABetaInfo explains that this eliminated the need for using the radical Nobody option. If there are just several people whom you’d rather prevent from knowing when you last used WhatsApp, others can still get the information.  One thing to bear in your mind is that adding someone to the except list will work both ways. That is, you won’t be able to see when the people on the list last logged in either.

According to the post explaining the feature, it will also apply to other aspects of privacy, such as access to your profile picture and the “about” section of your profile. The next update will also bring attachments as big as 2GB, reactions, and communities. Does it sound like the app is headed in the right direction for you? Do you think your privacy will benefit from the new feature? You’re welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.