WhatsApp finally gets settings to hide ‘Last seen at’, ‘Profile Pictures’ & ‘Status’ Updates on Android!

WhatsApp is finally introducing two features to its Android app that iOS users have enjoyed for a while. You can now disable your “last seen at” status on Android, just like you could on iOS. Users will be able to either show it to all, only people in their phone book or no one. Another setting lets users mute certain conversations.

What’s more interesting is that unlike on iOS, you can switch freely between the visible and invisible status, without having to wait for 24 hours for the changes to reflect. On iOS, if you do wish to switch your timestamp off, you cannot change your mind and toggle for another day, till the changes are in place.
The ability to hide profile pictures and status messages are also a nice touch by WhatsApp. You cannot make these changes to your settings in iOS, but you can do so now on Android. However, if you do wish to hide your picture, status or timestamp, either you need to choose to turn it off for just strangers, or only from your contacts. You cannot choose to hide from only a handful of your contacts.

This privacy feature is not available on the Play Store version of WhatsApp yet. The updated app is currently available for download from WhatsApp’s website but hasn’t made it to the Play Store, yet. Once you have installed the new version of WhatsApp, you can find the new privacy tab in Settings and then Account Settings.You can download it from here.