Apps

WhatsApp now lets you hide profile pictures and online status

Now you can choose specific contacts to hide from instead of the all-or-nothing approach.

by
Alex Gatewood
June 20, 2022

Image: KnowTechie

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WhatsApp has recently added a new privacy feature that gives users more control over the content that they share with other users on the platform. The new privacy control lets users hide their profile pictures and online status from specific contacts.

The Meta-owned platform announced these changes in a tweet on the official WhatsApp Twitter page late last week. Before this update, the platform would allow you to hide your status and profile picture from everyone, your entire contacts list, or no one.

But with the new controls, users can pick and choose which contacts they would like to block from seeing their profile picture and online status.

https://twitter.com/WhatsApp/status/1537213566717075456

When setting up privacy controls, there is a new option, called ‘My Contacts Except…’ that lets you choose specific contacts to block.

The new feature lets you hand pick which of your contacts you want to hide your profile picture or online status from.

Say you’ve got that annoying aunt that constantly messages you whenever you’re online. Or maybe you’ve updated your profile picture and you don’t want to hear unsolicited opinions from your contacts. The new feature will let you avoid some of those hassles.

Image: KnowTeche / AndroidPolice

By heading into Account and then Privacy in your WhatsApp profile, you can manage this new privacy setting pretty easily. Just choose the My Contacts Except… option to start setting up an appropriate list for who can see your WhatsApp info.

Meta has begun rolling out this new privacy feature on WhatsApp now. If you don’t see it immediately, there’s no need to panic.

These kinds of updates typically roll out over the course of a few days. But as long as you have the latest version of the app installed, you should see the new privacy controls soon.

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