The new version of WhatsApp allows you to hide the connection status. That is to say: that they cannot see when you are online.
WhatsApp is designed to talk to everyone , but we don’t always want to or can do it. For this reason, sometimes we hide information from our WhatsApp profile, such as the last connection or reading notifications. However, there is another indicator that our contacts can see and sometimes we would prefer to hide: the online status, also known as the ‘online’ indicator.
This one, unlike the previous ones, could not be hidden. If you enter the application and have an internet connection, you appeared online. It is the way of working that WhatsApp had. However, thanks to a recent update, the company now allows you to hide this parameter as well.
Doing so is very easy and will allow you to gain some privacy . Especially late at night or at times of the day when you cannot attend to all your contacts. Thus, only certain people will see you online . Those that you personally select. Or none, if that’s what you want. The result, in any case, will be the same: that they don’t send you messages at specific times or get upset because you don’t respond as quickly as they would like.
Steps to hide if you are online within WhatsApp
This new feature is in the August WhatsApp updates. Both on WhatsApp for Android and WhatsApp for iOS . All you have to do is update the app to the latest version, and if you still don’t see the feature, wait a few days. The company itself informs us that “these functions will be launched in the coming weeks”, so the landing will be progressive among users.
In any case, when your turn comes, you will find this option in the Privacy section of WhatsApp. More specifically, within WhatsApp, in Settings> Account> Privacy . Once there, go to Last connection . When available, it will be renamed Last Connected & Online . In English, Last seen and online . Once inside, you can decide who sees your last connection and your WhatsApp online status.
Until now, in that section you could choose who saw your last connection . From now on it will remain the same. You can decide that everyone sees it , only your contacts, nobody or only your contacts except those you select. But now you can also choose in that same panel who sees when you are online or online. You can choose between the whole world or check the same option that you have configured for the last connection .
The difference between ‘online’ and ‘last connected’
According to those responsible for WhatsApp, “if a contact is online, it means that they have WhatsApp open in the foreground on their device and have an Internet connection. However, that does not mean that the contact has seen your message. On the other hand, “the last connected information indicates the time the contact used WhatsApp for the last time”.
Remember that you can also hide your profile photo, your description and/or your statuses from all users or only from those who are not your trusted contacts. Each of these options can be configured independently from Settings> Account> Privacy . This will prevent unknown people from obtaining information from your profile without permission and/or without having an open conversation.