WhatsApp is changing your privacy settings; here's what you get and how to

WhatsApp is rolling out a fourth privacy setting option for users soon. Know what it is and how to use it.

This WhatsApp option is the same as the one available in the privacy settings for Groups and Status updates and it is available on Android. (REUTERS)

WhatsApp, as of now, gives its users three options, when it comes to the Privacy Settings. Among the options are Last Seen, Profile Photo and About sections. These settings are -- Everyone, wherein everyone can see these features for a user; My Contacts, wherein only the people in the users' contact list will see updates to these features; and Nobody, wherein no one, not even the people in the users' contact list will be able to access it. Now, word is that the Meta-owned messaging app is rolling out a fourth option to the mix.

WABetaInfo, the blog that tracks developments in the app, reports that WhatsApp is including ‘My Contacts Except…' to the mix. This option is the same as the one available in the privacy settings for Groups and Status updates and it is available to all the users who are using WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.21.23.14.

We first got to know about the messaging app working on this feature back in September this year. And now, word is that WhatsApp has started rolling out the ‘My Contacts Except…' privacy option to the users of its Android beta app. However, the blog site says that the messaging app is rolling out the update to specific beta testers only.

How to use ‘My contacts except…' feature (when it is rolled out)

When users select the ‘My contacts except…' option, they will be able to choose who cannot see their information on WhatsApp. It is worth noting that users who have disabled the Last Seen option for specific contacts will not be able to see their Last Seen updates as well. However, this special rule for Last Seen does not apply to the About and Profile Photo sections.

Separately, WhatsApp has released a new default message timer to the users of its Android beta app. The blog site says that with this update, WhatsApp users can set 24 hours and 90 days as new expiration times for disappearing chats. This is in addition to the existing seven days limit that is there on the disappearing messages.