Finally, WhatsApp will let you hide 'last seen' status from specific contacts

For now, you can only hide the status from non-contacts or everyone.
By Anna Iovine  on 
two phones showing whatsapp on the screen

WhatsApp is beta testing a feature to hide a user's 'last seen' status from certain contacts, according to WhatsApp beta news blog WABetaInfo.

On WhatsApp, 'last seen' lets other users know when someone last opened the app, and could hint at whether they checked the app without responding to a message. Currently, you can hide your 'last seen' from everyone, but that means you can't see anyone else's, either. There's also an option to set 'last seen' to your contacts only, but you can't choose specific people to be privy to it.

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Here are the current 'last seen' privacy options available on WhatsApp:

screenshot of whatsapp last seen privacy feature
WhatsApp's current Last Seen privacy feature. Credit: Screenshot: WhatsApp

The new feature will add "My Contacts Except..." to this list, making it possible to block certain people from viewing your 'last seen.' It's currently in beta for both iOS and Android, and will hopefully be released to all of WhatsApp soon.

Topics WhatsApp

anna iovine, a white woman with curly chin-length brown hair, smiles at the camera
Anna Iovine
Associate Editor, Features

Anna Iovine is associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on X @annaroseiovine.


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