Popular instant messaging service, WhatsApp is now testing a feature that users have more control over than usual. The Meta-owned platform will now allow users to hide their online status. This feature was recently spotted by WABetaInfo and has been confirmed to be currently undergoing testing.
The new feature will allow users to choose who can see their online status and who can’t when the app is launched for sending messages, talking, or updating their status. The report says the birth of this feature reveals that the instant messaging service is serious about taking users’ feedback into account. It is anticipated that WhatsApp will update the ‘Last seen and online’ section of the app’s settings to include a new option titled ‘Who can see when I’m online.’
Reports suggest that two new choices will make controlling who may see when users are online directly under our last seen settings: ‘Everyone’ and ‘Same as Last Seen’. The report also says, ‘To stop third-party apps from tracking our last seen and online status, WhatsApp started automatically obscuring the last seen to people you’ve never talked to’ last year.
Currently, the instant messaging service offers users the ability to hide read recipients which are the blue ticks that confirm a message is been read. According to reports, WhatsApp may as well be testing even more features that give users the ability to edit text messages.
According to WABetaInfo’s report, over time Whatsapp users have such a feature that gives them more control. Reasons, why users desire to use WhatsApp in such a mode, include, avoiding being bothered by other users or the feeling of being stalked. WABetaInfo noted in its report that ‘We know a lot of people want this feature, so we also created a concept to disable the online status last year, that’s a good way to share feedback with WhatsApp.’
The new feature will be available to users on the Android, iOS, and WhatsApp web platforms.
Olagoke Ajibola is a creative writer and content producer with an eye for details and excellence. He has a demonstrated history of telling stories for TV, Film and Online. Aside from being fascinated by the power of imagination, his other interest are travel, sport, reading and meeting people.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
