Many WhatsApp users on Android have long been asking for an option to hide their online status; and Meta finally seems to have added such a feature to its Android app. Indeed, WABetaInfo has found clues regarding WhatsApp’s imminent addition of a feature to hide your online status from a specific contact.
In November last year, WhatsApp added the ability to hide your “Last seen” status from specific contacts. It was a step in the right direction for privacy, but the company is now taking it a step further. With the WhatsApp for Android 2.22.16.12 beta, the folks over at WABetaInfo were able to access a new privacy setting.
WhatsApp is working on a feature that would allow users to hide their online status
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The instant messaging platform now allows users to select the contacts they want to share their status with. WhatsApp offers three options: my contacts, my contacts except, and only share with. This feature, already present on iOS devices for a few months, arrives shortly after another beta that let you choose who can see your profile information.
WhatsApp users can therefore choose to share their status with all their contacts, remove certain people from the list; or only share with certain contacts. For example, if you want to hide the status from a specific person; you just have to choose the second option.
The new beta contains a new option to choose who can see when you are online. The option is directly related to the “Last Seen” setting, since you can choose whether everyone should know your availability or only those who can see your “Last Seen” status. Users concerned about their privacy will therefore soon be able to hide their online status; for their entire contact list on Android.
It is worth mentioning that recently, Whatsapp data migration from Android to iOS is finally officially possible, the feature is available for all comtaible devices.