HIGHLIGHTS
- WhatsApp currently provides three privacy settings for profile information: Everyone, My Contacts, and Nobody.
- WhatsApp is currently testing a "My Contacts Except..." option.
WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out new granular privacy controls to select testers on the latest beta version of the app for iOS, allowing for advanced management of the app's privacy settings. The feature, which was first spotted in development last year, is intended to give users granular control over who can see their last seen, about, and profile photo on the messaging service. While some beta testers can now access these features on the iOS and Android beta versions, WhatsApp has yet to announce when these privacy settings will be made available to all users.
According to WABetaInfo, a WhatsApp features tracker, the Meta-owned messaging service has begun rolling out granular privacy controls for profile photo, 'About' description, and 'Last seen' on WhatsApp. Users who have signed up to receive beta builds through TestFlight can update to WhatsApp beta for iOS 22.9.0.70, which may enable the features in the app. According to the feature tracker, the new settings appear to be enabled via a server-side switch, as some users may have to wait 24 hours to see the new settings.
Users who have updated to the latest beta version of WhatsApp can go to Settings, select Account, and then Privacy. Users should be able to see a new option titled My Contacts Except... under each of the three sections titled About, Last Seen, and Profile Photo, which will prevent any selected contacts from viewing their profile photo, last seen, or about profile sections. Previously, WhatsApp users could only select from Everyone, My Contacts, and Nobody.
According to the feature tracker, excluding a contact from viewing when you were last seen on WhatsApp will hide their last seen from you, but this is not the case when excluding them from viewing your about or last seen. The same is true for WhatsApp for Android beta users, who received the same feature last month with WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.8.9, which was released on March 29.
WhatsApp announced a new Communities feature earlier this week to help administrators gain more control over groups. Multiple groups can now be added to a Community, and administrators can send a single message to everyone. According to the company, WhatsApp is also bringing more improvements to the messaging service, such as an increased file sharing limit, new reactions, and the ability to make group audio calls with up to 32 people at the same time.
