WhatsApp to allow users to hide “online” status
Image: Unsplash
WhatsApp to allow users to hide “online” status
Words: Ellen Kenny
WhatsApp users will soon be able to use the app like the true lurkers that they are.
WhatsApp owners Meta announced that they are planning an update that will allow users to hide their online status.
Users will have two options who can see when we are online: “everyone” or “same as last seen”. You can choose for only your contacts to see your “last seen at” status, or no one at all.
If you choose not to share your “last seen” or online status, you won’t be able to see other users’ statuses.
This comes following requests from users to hide their status.
According to Meta, people may have countless reasons as to why they want to hide that they’re using the app: “for example, some users want to use WhatsApp without being disturbed by other people, or they feel stalked by someone.”
Last year, WhatsApp started automatically hiding the last seen to contacts you never chatted with, in order to prevent third-party apps from monitoring our last seen and online status. However, people already in a user’s contact could still see when they are online.
This upcoming update will fix this issue and allow users to adjust their status however they want.
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