The new update for the beta version of WhatsApp brings a simple change but is important for those who are particular with their privacy on the messaging platform. Users, at least those who are currently on the beta app, will be able to choose specific contacts that they don’t want to have access to their “Last Seen” status, About, and Profile Photo. This has been something we’ve seen in leaks and has been in development for months now so at least it’s now available for select beta users.
WABeta Info, which also brought us the previous update about this among other things, shares that WhatsApp is finally making this available and that it is “one of the best privacy features” available on the platform. Not everyone that is in your contacts list or who messages you on WhatsApp is someone you want to see some of the information that you have available there. Having the option which contacts you don’t want to see some of that information is a good step towards protecting your data.
When choosing who can see your Last Seen, About, and Profile Photo, you’ll now see the new option “My contacts except…”. Choosing that means you’ll be able to choose which contacts you are basically “blacklisting” from seeing those things. Previously, the options there are “Everyone”, “My contacts”, and “Nobody”. Now you get to have more granular control if you don’t like the option for all or nothing.
It’s worth noting that when you chose that option for “Last Seen”, you also will not be able to see their last seen status. This “special rule” doesn’t seem to apply to the About and Profile Photo settings so you’ll still be able to see theirs if they haven’t added you to their own “except” list. Also, even if the contact you added to the “blacklist” doesn’t have this feature enabled, they will still not be able to see your information.
This option has started rolling out for some of the WhatsApp beta users. There’s no mention yet when this will be available for the beta version
