WhatsApp started working on a new privacy setting last year that allowed users to hide their profile photos, last seen, and About info from specific people in their contacts lists.
Its availability was limited since it was in beta, but the company has announced that it’s finally rolling out to all its users across the globe on iPhone and Android devices.
Until now, you had three privacy options for your profile photo, last seen, and About info – Everyone, My contacts, and Nobody. These are joined by a fourth option called “My contacts except…” which was already available for Status privacy.
As the name suggests, the new option allows you to show your WhatsApp profile photo, last seen, and About info to people in your contacts list except those you exclude. But it’s worth noting that if you don’t share your last seen with others, you won’t be able to see theirs either, just like read receipts, with the only difference being that the latter always remains on for group chats even when you have turned it off.
You can head over to WhatsApp’s Settings > Account > Privacy menu on iPhone and Android devices to try this new privacy control.
In addition to widely rolling out a new privacy control, WhatsApp also announced a few group calling features, allowing users to mute others during a group call while also being able to message specific people. You will also see a banner when someone joins a group call offscreen.
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