Previously, WhatsApp let users hide their “last seen online” status, but it still showed when the user was online. Now, WhatsApp has released a feature where users can select who sees their online status and who doesn’t.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently claimed that WhatsApp provides greater privacy for messages through its end-to-end encryption. Today, it has added another layer of privacy that gives users control of protecting their online status from unwanted viewers. Rumors about the feature began in July, and four months later, WhatsApp proved these to be true.
More privacy, more control 🔒 #MessagePrivately with multiple layers of protection on WhatsApp. pic.twitter.com/tsiTOMGjIs
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) October 20, 2022
Users can hide their online status from selected individuals by clicking Settings > Privacy > Last Seen and the Online option. Then they can choose any of the four options: Everyone, My contacts, My contacts except, and Nobody, and set the same preferences for their online status.
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Other than this, according to WABetaInfo, certain WhatsApp beta testers were able to create polls on both WhatsApp for iOS and Android previously. However, the option to view polls is now available on WhatsApp for Windows as well. While all users can’t create their polls, they can still vote and view the results.
Minor updates like zooming in and out of photos shared within WhatsApp chats and receiving notifications when another user calls have also been added to the beta version. Moreover, a list of keyboard shortcuts for actions like opening GIF and Emoji panels, starting new chats, and creating new chats, among others, has been added to WhatsApp"s settings. You can see the full list of shortcuts here. To access the updates, individuals must be a part of the beta program and have the latest version of WhatsApp for Windows.
Source and images: WABetaInfo