WhatsApp rolls out new privacy features, among other updates
WhatsApp announced Wednesday that it’ll be rolling out new privacy features giving users more control over the kinds of information other people can see. With the new update, users can limit who can see their profile photo, last seen status, and more, according to Engadget.
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The change includes a new option that allows users to exclude specific people in your contacts from seeing your profile photo, about, and last seen status, as reported by Engadget. This appears to be a convenient feature for people to hide from businesses, banking accounts, or creepy people on WhatsApp.
Previously, WhatsApp only had three options: everyone, my contacts, and nobody. Engadget also says that if users do decide to hide their last seen status from others, you won’t be able to see theirs either.
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Prior to the official launch, the new privacy setting was available to select users as part of a limited beta. The meta-owned messaging platform also announced new updates for its group calls. In a tweet from the head of WhatsApp at Meta Will Cathcart, participants in large group calls can now mute or message specific people.
According to Techcrunch, it’s been a feature-heavy week for WhatsApp concerning privacy and convenience. The company also announced earlier this week that it was adding the ability for users to transfer their conversation chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages from Android to iPhone via Apple’s Move to iOS app.
Users can enable the features on their WhatsApp accounts soon since it could be an incremental rollout.
Topics WhatsApp
Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].
