For a long time now, WhatsApp has included a feature that shows when a user was last online or last active on the messaging platform, which can be either helpful or a hindrance, depending on your personal or business situation.
As regular WhatsApp users will know, the "Last Seen" status of a contact sits atop the conversation thread, informing you when that contact last opened the app and was active on the platform. But if you don't want people to know when you were last active, WhatsApp includes a setting to hide your Last Seen status or limit its visibility to certain users.
You can set it so that your Last Seen status can be seen by everyone, no-one, or only your contacts. Just bear in mind that if your Last Seen is hidden from another person, you won't be able to see their Last Seen either. Here's how it works.
- Open the WhatsApp app on your iPhone.
- Tap the Settings icon in the bottom-right.
- Tap Account.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap Last Seen.
- Tap to select Everyone, My Contacts, or Nobody.
WhatsApp is currently working on giving users the option to adjust the visibility of their Last Seen status on a contact-by-contact basis, according to a September 2021 report, although the option has yet to be rolled out as of writing.
At the end of 2021, WhatsApp also made a privacy change to prevent people on its messaging platform from viewing the Last Seen status of users whom they have never chatted with, however people and businesses a user knows or has previously messaged are not affected by the change.
