You might have come across a lot of many WhatsApp users with hidden status on WhatsApp. While it’s great for privacy, WhatsApp unfortunately doesn’t have a true offline mode. So, if you are looking to hide your online status in WhatsApp, let me tell you that WhatsApp lets you adjust your privacy settings.
So, here’s everything you need to know about hiding your online status.
Can You Completely Hide Your Online Status?
Unfortunately, there is no way you can fully hide your online status on WhatsApp. For instance, when you open any chat, the other person will see online next to your name. WhatsApp works like SMS because it is always connected when the app is open.
But one thing you can do is that you can hide your Last Seen time and set your online status to match that setting, which limits who can see when you are active.
How to Hide WhatsApp Online Status
Here are the steps for hiding your last seen and online status on WhatsApp.
On Android:
Step 1: Open WhatsApp and then click on the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner
Step 2: After that, select Settings and tap on the Privacy option, and then choose Last Seen & Online.
Step 3: Then, under Who can see your last seen option, select Nobody or My Contacts only if you want contacts to see it.
Step 4: Next, under the Who can see when I’m online option, select the same as the one above.
On iPhone:
Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap Settings, and scroll down to see Privacy. Tap on it and select Last Seen & Online.
Step 2: Next, set Who can see your last seen to Nobody. Similarly, set Who can see when I’m online to Nobody.
Hide Online Status on WhatsApp: Limitations
Some limitations include that you will still show online to people you are actively messaging, but your last seen will be hidden from everyone if set to Nobody.
Other than that, if you disable Read Receipts on WhatsApp, people won’t know that you have read their messages. Do note that this is separate from online status.
That said, for these settings to work properly, you will need the latest version of WhatsApp.
Here Are Some Extra Privacy Tips
- You can turn off Read Receipts to hide when you read messages.
- Another tip for safety can be setting your Profile Photo and About info to My Contacts or Nobody.
- Use Blocked Contacts to prevent unwanted users from seeing your information.
Is Privacy a Myth?
This is how you can hide your online status on WhatsApp. Do note that you cannot be completely invisible on WhatsApp. But for privacy, setting Last Seen to Nobody and Online to Same as last seen gives you strong privacy protection.
This simple change ensures that most people won’t know when you are active or when you last used WhatsApp.
FAQs
Can I hide my online status from specific contacts on WhatsApp?
Yes! You can hide your online and Last Seen status from specific people.
What happens when I hide my online status on WhatsApp?
When you hide it, those contacts won’t see when you’re online or your Last Seen time. But, you also won’t see anyone else’s online status or Last Seen until you turn it back on.
