WhatsApp offered the capability to hide your Last seen status from specific contacts in November of last year. Although it wasn’t the only thing the company has been working on since then, it was a positive move for privacy. The feature to hide your online status was introduced by WhatsApp earlier this month, and now, the feature is working its way to the Android version of WhatsApp beta.
The WABetaInfo team was able to access a new privacy setting using WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.22.16.12. According to the report, there is a choice for who may see when you’re online when you open the app and go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last seen and online. You can only select whether you want everyone to be aware of your availability or just those who can view your Last seen, therefore it is directly related to the Last seen setting.
Although it may appear strange, the company’s choice to keep online accessibility based on the Last seen status makes sense. After all, you probably don’t want them to see your online status if you don’t want them to see your Last seen status for a specific individual or group of people. As a result, you avoid having to configure two separate options.
It appears to be at most a simple addition. However, it’s a feature that should narrow the gap even further between the standard WhatsApp client and modifications like GB WhatsApp, which users could install for the additional privacy settings.
The change doesn’t only target copycats; feature-rich competitors like Telegram have long had access to comparable features. Even while it’s great to see it on WhatsApp at last, the new interface is still in beta. You won’t be able to utilize it until it appears on the stable channel.
Source: Android Police
