WhatsApp Rolls Out Granular Privacy Controls for About 2v372a Last Seen and Profile Photos

WhatsApp s can now exclude specific s from seeing parts of their profile. 5q4931

By David Delima | Updated: 17 June 2022 18:00 IST

WhatsApp s could previously choose from three broad privacy settings for their profile information 1h4w6r

Highlights

WhatsApp now offers four privacy settings for profile information
The My s Except... setting lets you ‘blacklist’ specific s
The feature was first spotted in development last year

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WhatsApp is widely rolling out rolling out improved privacy controls to s. The features allow s granular control over their privacy settings, to specify who can see their last seen, about, and profile photo on the messaging app. They were spotted in development last year, after which Meta-owned messaging service began to roll out the feature to beta testers. The privacy improvements come days after the company announced that it was adding for transferring chats from a smartphone running Android to an iPhone.

The rollout of the granular privacy controls was WhatsApp on Twitter on Thursday. These changes apply to WhatsApp's privacy settings for last seen, about, and profile photo sections. s will be able to select specific s from their address book to hide parts — or all — of their profile, according to WhatsApp. The messaging service has also updated its frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on its website with the new privacy settings.

The granular privacy settings were previously spotted by a feature tracker in April
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

Previously, s on Android and iOS would see three settings — Everyone, My s, and Nobody under the privacy settings for About, Last Seen and Profile Photo. Now, a fourth option My s Except... has been added, allowing s to select some s from their address book and hide parts of their profile from them. Others in the 's s should be able to view their WhatsApp profile normally.

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The granular privacy controls can come in handy for WhatsApp s who have added s that they do not want to share their personal information with. Previously, s would have to remove a person from their s to prevent their profile photo, last seen, and about from being shown to specific s, or block them, or set their visibility setting to “Nobody” in the settings. The new privacy setting lets s quickly create a ‘blacklist' of sorts to hide sections of your profile from specific s.

Earlier this week, WhatsApp also announced that it was rolling out beta for the ability to transfer chats from an Android smartphone to an iPhone. The messaging service introduced the ability to transfer chats from iOS to an Android smartphone last year. However, WhatsApp also revealed that s need to fulfil certain requirements to transfer their chats, chat history, and media from an Android to an iPhone, including ing the Move to iOS app and using a factory reset or new iPhone to complete the process.

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David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be ed via email at [email protected], on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More