Granular WhatsApp privacy settings leaked; you can hide information soon

WhatsApp privacy settings: WhatsApp will soon let you adjust your WhatsApp privacy settings in a granular manner to exclude certain contacts - it could come in very handy when trying to hide information from one person, or a group. Here’s what you need to know about the new WhatsApp feature.

WhatsApp privacy settings: Granular WhatsApp privacy settings will allow users to exclude certain contacts.

WhatsApp privacy settings: WhatsApp is currently working on an important change to its privacy settings that will give users granular control over their content, in one of the biggest changes to the feature since it was implemented years many ago on the popular messaging app. The WhatsApp privacy settings changes are still in development and could arrive in a later version of the WhatsApp app once they are ready, according to a report.

The changes to the WhatsApp privacy settings were first spotted by popular feature leaker WABetaInfo, who shared an image of the feature. It appears that WhatsApp privacy settings will soon gain an option called “My Contacts Except...” which will join the existing options Everyone, My Contacts, and Nobody.

The leaker reveals that the new setting to exclude certain users will apply to the following settings: Last Seen, Profile Picture, and About. It could come in very handy when trying to hide information from one person, or a group of people. However, users should remember that the same WhatsApp rules will apply – if you hide your Last Seen and Profile Photo from five users, you will not be able see their Last Seen or Profile Photo.

WhatsApp is planning to add the "My contacts except..." option for Last Seen, Profile Picture and About, so you will be able to exclude specific contacts without disabling the feature! 💯
Note: you cannot see the last seen of excluded contacts.

Availability: in a future update. pic.twitter.com/LWTihboePd

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) September 7, 2021

This additional option is expected to allow WhatsApp users to share their information with some contacts, while leaving out some specific users. According to the report, the “My Contacts Except...” that has been spotted on WhatsApp for iOS, will also come to Android devices in the future. We tested the latest beta version of WhatsApp for iOS and the feature was not available, which suggests that it is still being developed by the company and the leaker managed to get an early look at the upcoming setting.

Users who want to try out this new WhatsApp privacy feature can get it ahead of other users by joining the beta program of WhatsApp for iOS and WhatsApp for Android. This is where the feature is likely to appear before it makes its way to other users on the stable channel. However, at the moment, the TestFlight app has no open slots for WhatsApp beta for iOS, while the Play Store states that the beta program is full. However, Android users can keep an eye out for future coverage of the feature appearing, then download the beta version from APKMirror to try out the new feature when testing begins.