The online status on WhatsApp shows that the user is active. Whereas for one reason or another, users sometimes want to hide their online status. Now, the good news is that WhatsApp has granted the user's request for this feature.
Yes, some features related to user privacy are confirmed to be rolled out this August gradually to all users. "This suite of features is our way of keeping your conversations safe on WhatsApp," WhatsApp said on its blog.
Besides being able to leave the group secretly and only known by the admin, the most anticipated feature is of course the feature to hide the online status.
"Seeing friends or family online on WhatsApp makes us feel connected to each other. However, there are times when we want to open WhatsApp without wanting to be seen as online," WhatsApp wrote about setting online status.
"To make your wish come true when you don't want to show your online status, we introduced the ability to choose who can and can't see when you're online. This feature will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month," they added.
With this new feature, WhatsApp users can control who can see their online status or who can't see it at all, just like the control for the last seen feature. The settings will be in the privacy menu. Of course WhatsApp online status can still appear as usual if the user wants it.
"We hope that users are interested in trying these new features and experience the convenience of several options that can help them keep messages safe. We look forward to your feedback on the features you need next," WhatsApp said.