WhatsApp lets users hide profile photo, last seen from specific people

WhatsApp

The company also announces new mute and message features while making group calls

WhatsApp had started working on a new privacy setting last year that would allow users to hide their 'profile photos,' 'last seen,' and 'about' information from specific people in their contact lists.

Its availability was limited like in the beta period, but the company has announced that it will finally be released for all its users worldwide on iPhone and Android devices.

Until now, users had three privacy options for one's profile photo, last seen, and About info - Everyone, My Contacts, and Nobody. These are joined by a fourth option called 'My contacts except...' which is also available for Status privacy, as per GSM Arena.

The new option allows users to show their WhatsApp profile photo, last seen, and About info to people in their contacts list except those they wish to exclude.

However, it's worth noting that if someone doesn't share their last seen with others, they won't be able to see others either, just like read receipts, with the only difference being that the latter will always remain active for group chats, even if they've turned it off.

One can head over to WhatsApp's Settings > Account > Privacy menu on iPhone and Android devices to try this new privacy control.

Now mute, message participants during group call

Aside from rolling out a new privacy control, WhatsApp also announced some group calling features, allowing users to mute others during a group call and send messages to specific people. One can also see a banner when someone joins a group call off-screen.

'Group Membership Approval' soon

The latest WhatsApp beta update also includes an admin approval feature that allows WhatsApp group admins to accept or deny requests from people wanting to join via hyperlink when enabled.

The information comes from WABetaInfo, and it indicates that the feature, which is now only available to beta users, will soon be available for secure versions of the app on both Android and iOS, as per Mashable.

When available, the admin approval feature in WhatsApp must be manually enabled for each group that requires the feature. The option to toggle it on or off will be available in the group settings as 'Group Membership Approval' and whenever the feature is toggled on or off, all current customers in the group will receive a quick notification to let them know about the change.

When the group membership approval feature is enabled, admins will see group membership requests in a separate subsection in the 'Group Info' section each time someone tries to join the group using a sharable link. Admins can choose which clients to grant access to the group on this page.

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