WhatsApp: You can now hide your Last Seen status from specific contacts

WhatsApp says users can better protect their privacy by choosing who gets to see their information. — Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

Users now have more control over who can see their information, namely their profile photo, Last Seen status, About, and Status on WhatsApp.

Under the Privacy settings, the company has rolled out a "My Contacts Except..." option for users to exclude people from their address book to prevent them from viewing their information.

Previously, users were limited to three options – "Everyone" which makes the info available to all users; "My Contacts", which shows the info only to those in the user’s contact list; and "Nobody", which prevents anyone from seeing the info.

Users can access the feature through Settings > Account > Privacy. This feature can also be applied on WhatsApp Desktop by clicking Menu > Settings > Privacy.

The company also announced updates for the group call feature, where users can now mute others, send a message to a specific contact and see a banner when someone joins off-screen.

Head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart said users can do so by selecting a specific contact and the option to message or mute them will be available.