How to hide your online status on WhatsApp to protect privacy
Redeem now - You can hide online status on WhatsApp — known as Last Seen — in your Privacy settings.
- Choose whether only your contacts or nobody should see your Last Seen status.
- You can also choose to exclude certain people from seeing your Last Seen status.
If you use WhatsApp regularly, chances are you've spotted the login status next to the name of some of your contacts.
Though WhatsApp makes your online status visible to everyone by default, you can easily change it.
In fact, because WhatsApp has been known in the past for a variety of security and privacy issues, you may want to minimize your online footprint in the app.
Quick tip: If you are looking for a messaging app that doesn't reveal your online status at all, consider trying Signal. For a direct comparison of Signal and WhatsApp, refer to our guide on these two apps.
What is WhatsApp online status?
WhatsApp online status allows users to see the last time their contacts were active on the platform and whether they are currently using the app.
When someone is online, it doesn't necessarily mean they've seen your message — it simply means they're currently using the app.
Last Seen refers to the last time the person used WhatsApp and also doesn't mean that they have seen your most recent message. The only way to tell if someone has seen your message is the blue check marks beside the message.
If you don't want your WhatsApp contacts to know your Last Seen or online status, you can easily hide your status from everyone, make it available to only your contacts, or exclude certain contacts from seeing it through the app's settings.
Note: When you hide your own WhatsApp online status, you also can't view other people's statuses, though it's a more polite alternative to blocking someone outright.
The steps to hide your Last Seen or online status on WhatsApp are simple:
1. Start the WhatsApp app on your phone and go to Settings.
2. On the Privacy page, open Last Seen & Online.
3. Choose how you want to hide your Last Seen status.
Here's the full guide on how to hide your online status on WhatsApp:
How to hide WhatsApp online status
1. Start WhatsApp and go to Settings.
- On iPhone, tap Settings (the gear icon) at the bottom.
- On Android, tap the More icon (the three vertical dots) at the top, and then select Settings in the menu.
2. On the Settings page, tap Privacy.
3. Tap Last Seen & Online to change your online status.
4. Everyone is probably already selected by default. Choose My Contacts, My Contacts Except, or Nobody to fine-tune who can see your status.
My Contacts and Nobody is fairly self-explanatory; choose one of these to allow only your contacts or no one at all to see your online status. You can also choose My Contacts Except and select people who you don't want to see your "Last Seen" status.
When you're finished, tap Done in the top right corner on iPhone or the check mark in the bottom right corner on Android. For a full overview of your options here, check out our guide to changing privacy settings in WhatsApp.
Note: While hiding your Last Seen means people won't be able to see when you were last online, it will still show them when you're currently online. To tweak that setting, adjust the Who Can See When I'm Online option on the same page as Last Seen & Online.
Dave Johnson Freelance Writer Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider. Read more Read lessncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyowcidnKxnpJqwqXvHqK5mrJ9itaqwxGamp6SZo7Juv9Oaq66rXaS7bsPHmqusmaCl