13 Essential Features for Maintaining Privacy on WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a popular messaging platform in my region, making it quite challenging to avoid its use completely. Luckily, if you want to control your interactions and maintain a discreet profile, WhatsApp offers various privacy settings that empower you to manage who can contact you. In this article, I’ll guide you through these features.

1. Turn Off Last Seen & Online Notifications

Nowadays, it seems like everyone is constantly online, leading to a feeling of being under constant observation. I personally dislike this sensation, which is why I’ve opted to hide my Last Seen & Online status on WhatsApp. This feature reveals when someone last accessed the app and if they are currently online.

Keep in mind that disabling this feature removes your ability to see others’ last seen or online statuses too. Personally, this is a breath of fresh air – it alleviates my anxiety about checking everyone else’s activity. I can concentrate on other things instead.

If you’re using Android, tap on the three dots in the top right corner and choose Settings. For iPhone users, click on the Settings icon at the bottom of the app.

Next, navigate to Privacy.

Tap on Last seen and online, and then select Nobody for both Who can see my last seen and Who can see when I’m online.

2. Control Who Sees Your Profile Photo

By default, anyone with your number can view your profile picture on WhatsApp, which can sometimes invite unwelcome attention. To avoid this, I adjust my privacy settings to limit who can access my profile photo.

Head to Settings -> Privacy -> Profile photo.

You can choose My contacts or, for more specific access, select My contacts except… Alternatively, for complete privacy, select Nobody.

3. Select Who Can See Your About Message

The ‘About’ section on WhatsApp serves as a brief personal statement. Many users, myself included, prefer not to have sensitive information available to everyone. If that’s you, follow these steps:

Go to Settings -> Privacy -> About.

Change the visibility from the default setting of Everyone to a preference that suits you.

4. Limit Who Sees Your Status Updates

WhatsApp’s Status feature allows you to share images, messages, or short videos, reminiscent of Instagram stories. Like Instagram, I prefer to keep my statuses private, sharing only with a select group.

To configure this, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Status.

Here, you can choose to share your status with all contacts or customize your audience using the options My contacts except or Only share with.

5. Disable Read Receipts

With instant messaging, there’s often pressure for immediate replies, which I find stressful. To avoid this, I’ve turned off read receipts, enabling me to read messages without the sender realizing.

Turning this option off will prevent you from seeing when others read your texts too.

To do this, navigate to Settings -> Privacy.

6. Activate Disappearing Messages

If you want to keep certain conversations private, such as discussing surprise plans, you can enable disappearing messages. This feature allows messages to auto-delete after a specified duration (ranging from 24 hours to 90 days).

To set this up, open a chat, tap on the three-dot menu in the top corner, and select Disappearing messages.

Choose your desired message duration. Once set, messages will automatically vanish after the chosen time.

If you need to disable this feature, simply follow the same instructions and select the Off option.

7. Control Who Can Add You to Groups

I find unsolicited additions to groups on WhatsApp frustrating. By default, anyone can add you to a group without consent. Luckily, you can adjust your settings to prevent this.

Go to Settings -> Privacy -> Groups.

You can limit group additions to only your contacts or create a custom list. Note that admins cannot add you to a group if you restrict this; they can still invite you privately.

8. Mute Unknown Callers

If you want to avoid unsolicited calls on WhatsApp, consider silencing unknown numbers.

Navigate to Settings -> Privacy -> Calls.

Toggle the Silence unknown callers option on.

You can also find a similar option under Settings -> Privacy -> Advanced. Enable Block unknown account messages to further reduce random messages.

9. Activate App Lock

To enhance the security of my WhatsApp chats, I’ve set up an app lock. This ensures that if someone gets access to my phone, they will need a password or biometric verification to read my messages.

Go to Settings -> Privacy -> App lock.

With biometric support, you’ll find an option to Unlock with biometric, allowing you to unlock the app using your fingerprint or another identifier.

Once set, remember to disable the Show content in notifications toggle for enhanced privacy.

10. Enable Chat Lock

When I open WhatsApp, I want to ensure that sensitive information isn’t exposed to those around me. While traveling, for instance, I often activate a chat lock for my personal conversations.

To set up a chat lock for a specific conversation, tap on the person’s profile picture at the top of the chat.

Toggle on the Chat lock option.

Press Continue on the subsequent prompt.

WhatsApp will require verification through your fingerprint (or other biometrics) or a PIN to access locked chats.

After you’ve selected and confirmed your option, WhatsApp will lock the chat and hide both the notification content and the chat thread from your inbox.

To access these chats, swipe down from the top of WhatsApp to reveal the Locked chats folder.

Tap it and authenticate yourself to view your locked conversations. To disable the Chat lock feature, simply repeat the above steps and toggle it off.

11. Activate Two-Factor Authentication

I highly recommend enabling two-factor authentication on WhatsApp. This adds an extra layer of security, making it more difficult for unauthorized individuals to gain access to your account, even if they somehow obtain your login details.

12. Block Unwanted Contacts

If a contact on WhatsApp becomes overly bothersome, I prefer to maintain my peace by blocking them, thus cutting off any future negativity.

For Mobile

Open the conversation with the contact you want to block.

Tap on their name to access their details. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and choose Block.

Confirm by selecting Block in the pop-up.

To unblock a contact, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Blocked contacts.

Select the contact you wish to unblock and follow the necessary steps.

For PC

You can also block contacts through the WhatsApp desktop application. Open the conversation with the person you wish to block and click on their profile picture at the top.

Select Block under their profile overview.

To manage your Blocked contacts list, return to your mobile device.

13. Safeguard Your IP Address

Your IP address can expose your location and various details about your internet usage. By keeping it secure, you can protect your location data and prevent unwanted tracking. WhatsApp offers options to shield your IP address, which I recommend you enable.

Go to Settings -> Privacy -> Advanced in WhatsApp on your phone.

Turn on the options for Protect IP address during calls and Disable link previews. This will help prevent third-party websites from inferring your IP address.

Now that you have tips to secure your WhatsApp experience, you might also want to explore additional features to enhance your messaging. Check out our guide on creating lists in WhatsApp or learn how to format text in your chats.

Image credit: DepositPhotos All screenshots by Alexandra Arici