Over the years, WhatsApp has implemented a number of privacy-related changes and features. From the ability to disable read receipts, or blue ticks, to the ability to hide your profile picture from specific or all contacts. However, one feature of WhatsApp that hasn’t changed in a long time is the ‘Online’ indicator that appears under your name/number on other people’s devices every time you open and use the app.
Now, it seems WhatsApp is finally working on this, and may introduce a change to the app in the future that lets you turn off the ‘Online’ status indicator entirely, letting you open the app whenever you want, without letting your friends, family, colleagues or pretty much anyone finding out.
Predicted Whatsapp will allow users to control who can see their online status
According to a new report by WABetaInfo, which has a good track record of correctly predicting WhatsApp’s upcoming features, the platform is working on a feature that will allow WhatsApp users to control who can see their online status.
As seen in the screenshot shared above, WhatsApp will let you choose between two settings for your ‘Online’ indicator. You will be able to either set it to ‘Everyone’ which will let everyone see you when you’re online (unless they are blocked) and then there is the ‘Same as Last Seen’ option that will show your ‘Online’ indicator to only those who have permission to see your Last Seen indicator.
‘Online’ status will depend on how you set your ‘Last Seen’
Depending on how you set your ‘Last Seen’, your ‘Online’ status will also be available to more or fewer people. For instance, if you set your ‘Last Seen’ to ‘Nobody’ and ‘Online’ status to ‘Same as Last Seen’, no one will be able to see both your ‘Last Seen’ and ‘Online’ indicators.
The report adds that while the screenshot is taken on iOS, the feature will eventually come to Android and Desktop users as well. Note that the feature is in development, so there is no telling how long it will take. The implementation will first come to beta users, and stable users should get the update after any bugs are ironed out
