WhatsApp had started working on a new privacy setting last year that would allow users to hide their “profile pictures”, “last seen” and “about” specific people in their contact lists.
Its availability was limited like during the beta period, but the company has announced that it will finally be available to all its users worldwide on iPhone and Android devices.
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Until now, users had three privacy options for profile picture, last seen and about information – Everyone, My Contacts and Nobody. These are joined by a fourth option called “My contacts except…” which is also available for status privacy, according to GSM Arena.
The new option allows users to view their WhatsApp profile picture, last seen, and information about people in their contact list, except those they wish to exclude.
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However, it should be noted that if someone does not share their last seen with the others, they will also not be able to see the others, just like the read receipts, with the only difference that the latter will always remain active for the group chats, even though they turned it off.
How to take advantage of the new WhatsApp feature?
Step 1: Open WhatsApp settings.
Step 2: Click on the “Account” option
Step 3: Now try the feature on iPhone and Android devices by opening the Privacy menu.
Along with rolling out a new privacy control, WhatsApp also announced some group call features, allowing users to mute others in a group call and send messages to specific people. You can also see a banner when someone joins an off-screen group call.
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