WhatsApp gives its users a lot of different privacy settings that they can change to suit their needs. So, any WhatsApp user can easily make private their WhatsApp account.
You may already know that WhatsApp lets you read messages without the sender knowing, hide your profile picture from certain contacts or from people you don’t know, and use other privacy options.
Similarly, hiding your last seen from a specific person, specified contacts, or everyone is one of WhatsApp’s privacy choices for protecting users’ privacy.
With WhatsApp’s last seen privacy settings, you can appear offline on WhatsApp to:
- Everyone.
- Unknown Contacts.
- One Person Or Certain Contacts.
- All Contacts Except One Person Or Specific Contacts.
So, in this article, we’ll look at how you can hide your WhatsApp last seen status from everyone, unknown people, or a specific WhatsApp contact.
- How to Hide Your WhatsApp Last Seen Notice
You can change the WhatsApp privacy settings for your Last Seen status using any WhatsApp platform, such as Android, iOS, PC, or WhatsApp web. Let’s have a look at how to turn off your active status on WhatsApp
How to Hide Your WhatsApp Last Seen Notice
Before you hide your online status on WhatsApp, you should know that if you turn on “last seen” for someone else, you won’t be able to see that person or party’s “last seen” status either.
Regarding privacy settings for WhatsApp’s “Last Seen” status, you have four options that you can set up however you like. In WhatsApp’s privacy settings for Last Seen, you can choose from the four options below.
1. Show Online To Everyone
If you don’t care if your friends and other people can see when you were last on WhatsApp, you don’t need to change the default setting for Last Seen on WhatsApp.
If you have been using WhatsApp and have not made any changes to your privacy settings for Last Seen on WhatsApp since you began using it, the settings will continue to be set to “everyone.” This is the default setting for WhatsApp’s “Last seen” feature.
Anyone can view the time of your most recent interaction with WhatsApp if you have the default settings for “last seen” enabled in WhatsApp.
To keep your last online time on WhatsApp from being visible to everyone, follow the steps below.
Android & iPhone
- Open the WhatsApp app on your Android or iPhone.
- Tap the three-dot menu button in WhatsApp and go to the Settings => Account => Privacy => Last seen section.
- Choose the “Everyone” option to make your Last Seen time-stamp visible to everyone.
Any WhatsApp user can now see your last seen status.
Web and Desktop
- On your PC, launch the WhatsApp software or the WhatsApp web.
- Press the icon with three dots above the chat list and choose “Settings” from the menu.
- Go to Privacy => Last seen, and select the “Everyone” option.
2. Appear Offline To Unknown Contacts
Use this setting if you don’t want unknown contacts to find out when you were last online on WhatsApp. In other words, you can use this setting to appear offline to unsaved contacts (Strangers.)
Once you turn it on, only the WhatsApp contacts you have saved on your phone will be able to find out when you were last online.
You can learn how to activate the “My Contacts” option for your Last Seen in WhatsApp’s privacy settings using either your mobile device or your computer by reading the instructions below.
Android & iPhone
- Launch the WhatsApp app.
- Go to the Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen area.
- Select “My contacts” to hide your WhatsApp last seen from strangers.
So, only your contacts can see your “last seen” status on WhatsApp. And because your online status won’t be shown to strangers, they will think you are offline.
Web and Desktop
- On the WhatsApp web or software, go to the settings => Privacy => Last seen.
- Click the “My contacts” option.
3. Appear Offline To Strangers, One Person, Or Certain Contacts.
You can prevent nosy family members, friends, coworkers, or other people you know from seeing your WhatsApp last access time by selecting the “My Contacts Except” option in the WhatsApp privacy settings for your last seen. Using this option, you can modify your WhatsApp Last Seen privacy settings as follows.
- You can appear offline for only one person or certain contacts on WhatsApp.
- You can appear offline for all your contacts except one person or a specific group of people.
Let’s go over the steps to enable the “My Contacts Except” privacy option for your Last Seen in WhatsApp so that you can hide your WhatsApp last seen status from specific contacts.
Hide your WhatsApp Last Seen from a specific person or Certain Contacts
Android & iPhone
- Once you have opened the app, go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen and tap the “My Contacts Except” setting.
- Select a person or multiple contacts from your WhatsApp contact list with whom you do not wish to share your WhatsApp last seen.
- Tap the Green Checkmark button at the bottom.
That’s all. You have successfully concealed your last seen time on WhatsApp for specific contacts.
Web and Desktop
- On the WhatsApp software or web, click the ellipsis (…) in the top right corner of the chat window.
- Go to Settings => Privacy => Last Seen and click the “My Contacts Except” option.
- From the list of contacts, choose the contacts from whom you want to hide your last seen.
- Click the check mark button at the bottom to make your WhatsApp last seen time-stamp visible only to selected contacts.
Appear Offline To All Contacts Except One Person Or Particular Contacts.
Android & iPhone
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Accounts > Privacy > Last Seen.
- Tap the “My Contacts except” option in the WhatsApp Last Seen setting.
- (Your WhatsApp contacts list will appear.) Tap the pick all contacts icon in the top right corner of your WhatsApp contacts list to choose all contacts in your list.
- Tap on the name of the person or people in your contact list for whom you have permission to view your last WhatsApp used time.
- Tap the green checkmark button at the bottom of the contact list.
Web and Desktop
- Open WhatsApp on your PC (Web or Desktop Software.) Click the three dots menu above your chat list, and click Settings.
- Go to Privacy > Last Seen and choose My Contacts Except.
- Click the “Select All Toggle” button at the top right corner of the popup window.
- Uncheck the contacts you want to permit to see your most recent online time.
- Click the checkmark button at the bottom of your WhatsApp contact list window.
4. Appear Offline To Everyone
If you don’t want to share your online activities with anyone, including WhatsApp, this is a great way to protect your privacy and prevent anyone from seeing your last seen status.
After enabling this setting, neither your WhatsApp contacts nor unknown contacts will be able to view the time at which you were last active on WhatsApp.
Follow the instructions on the appropriate platform to enable the “Nobody” option in WhatsApp’s Last Seen feature.
Android & iPhone
- Open WhatsApp on your phone.
- Go to Settings => Accounts => Privacy => Last seen
- Tap the “Nobody” option to hide your online status from everyone on WhatsApp
Web and Desktop
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Settings => Privacy => Last Seen
- Click the “Nobody” option
NOTE:
Everyone who uses WhatsApp will have the “Everyone” option for the “last seen” setting pre-set by default. If you don’t change this setting and don’t make any other changes, other WhatsApp users will be able to figure out the last time you were online while using the service.
See Also: How to Appear Offline on Facebook
What does WhatsApp’s “Last Seen” mean?
In WhatsApp, the phrase “Last Seen” refers to the most recent time a user or business was active on the messaging network. When you look at someone’s last seen notice, if it says “Online” instead of “Last Seen,” it means that the user is currently using WhatsApp or that WhatsApp is running in the foreground of the specific user’s device with an active internet connection.
How to check WhatsApp’s last seen status?
Someone’s last seen time can be viewed on WhatsApp by visiting their profile and looking for the “last seen” entry directly under their name and phone number. Or, you can also look under the contact’s name in the conversation window for each person or business.
Why do people hide their WhatsApp ‘last seen’ status?
There are numerous possibilities for people to misinterpret a WhatsApp user based on their last seen status on WhatsApp.
For example, if parents notice a late-night last seen of their son or daughter, they can frequently question them. It could lead to breaking the relationship between them.
Many WhatsApp users (students, employees, best friends, etc.) prefer to keep their WhatsApp Last Seen hidden from the other party to avoid conflicts and strengthen their relationships.
There are many other reasons why a WhatsApp user might want to hide their most recent online appearance on the platform.
