WhatsApp is rolling out hide ‘Online’ status feature: How to use it on Android, iOS

WhatsApp is a broadly used platform and is almost unmatched when it comes to daily active users. The app’s popularity also brings some privacy concerns with it. One such concern has now been resolved. WhatsApp is rolling out the ability to hide your ‘online’ status. Every time you enter the app, it shows your online status to anyone who opens their chat. This could be intrusive to many users. To acknowledge this issue, WhatsApp had announced a new feature in August. That feature is now rolling out to all users. 

What is this hide 'Online' status feature all about? 

The ‘Last seen’ and ‘Online’ statuses tell you the last time your contacts used WhatsApp, or if they're online. While the ‘last seen’ option can easily be turned off completely, the ‘Online’ status continued to reflect every time you entered the app. The contact is online if they have WhatsApp open in the foreground on their device and are connected to the Internet. However, it doesn't necessarily mean the contact has read your message.

The new privacy feature will let you turn off even the ‘Online’ status. However, similar to how ‘Last Seen’ works, if you hide your Online status, you won’t be able to see the status of other users as well.

How to change your privacy settings on Android

Tap More options > Settings > Account > Privacy.

How to change privacy settings on iPhone

Tap more options> Tap Settings > Privacy.

How to change privacy settings on KaiOS

Press Options > Settings > Account > Privacy.

How to change privacy settings on WhatsApp Web and Desktop
Click Menu > Settings > Privacy.

Here are all the privacy-related options you can change in the settings:

• See your Last Seen and Online
• See your Profile Photo
• See your About information
• See your Status updates
• See Read Receipts
• Add you to Groups