WhatsApp Rolls Out New Privacy Controls For ‘Profile Picture’, ‘Last Seen’ Status

WhatsApp has released new privacy controls that allow users to decide who can view their profile pictures and who cannot. Part of the privacy controls also allow users to choose who can see their ‘last seen’ status, including the ‘About’ section.

Before now, users only had the option to block those settings for Everyone, My Contacts, or Nobody. The new privacy updates put WhatsApp users in control, letting them choose to block settings with a new option called, “My Contacts Except.”

With this, your contacts can see your last seen, profile photo, or status, except the people you exclude.

What the company is saying

Announcing the latest updates on its Twitter handle, WhatsApp said: “To further protect your privacy online, we’re rolling out new options to your privacy control settings. Now you can select who from your contact list can see your Profile Photo, About, and Last Seen status.

What you should know about the privacy settings

• You can adjust your privacy settings to control who sees your information. You can set your last seen, profile photo, about, or status to the following options:
• Everyone: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status will be available to all WhatsApp users.
• My Contacts: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status will be available to your contacts from your address book only.
• My Contacts Except…: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status will be available to your contacts from your address book, except those you exclude.
• Nobody: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status won’t be available to anyone.