WhatsApp users to soon be allowed to hide Last Seen status from specific contacts --Here is all we know

New Delhi: Facebook-owned WhatsApp will reportedly let users hide their online status from anyone who the users chose them to be.

As spotted by WABetaInfo, "WhatsApp has just submitted a new update through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the version up to 2.21.23.14."

"WhatsApp is rolling out one of the best privacy features today, giving you more control over who can see your information on WhatsApp. What’s that? In the past months, we have announced that WhatsApp was working to introduce a “My Contacts Except…” option for Last Seen (2.21.20.10), Profile Photo (2.21.21.2) and About (2.21.21.8). The feature was under development in those updates, but WhatsApp is finally rolling out this option for specific beta testers today!," WABetaInfo wrote on its website.

Currently, "Last Seen," "Profile Picture" and "About" can either be seen by everyone, contacts, or no one at all. There are no customisable options.

With this option, users will be able to hide their "Last Seen" time from a handful of people without disabling it altogether. This option will also support profile photos and bios, providing much more control over privacy than previously offered. Disabling "Last Seen" will remain a two-way street -- if a user hides it from a group of people in their contacts list, WhatsApp will hide their information in return.

WABetaInfo further explains that when a user selects “My contacts except…” they can choose who they wish to show their information to on WhatsApp. 

"Note that, if the feature is not enabled for people who you select in the “My contacts except” section, they still cannot see your information. If you disable your last seen for specific contacts, you won’t be able to see their last seen as well: this special rule for Last Seen does not apply to About and Profile Photo. If the feature is not available for your WhatsApp account, don’t worry: WhatsApp is gradually enabling the feature for specific beta testers, and more activations will be following after installing the next updates," WABetaInfo added.

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