The WhatsApp for Android app update has been released and most people are pleased to find out that they can finally keep unwanted people away from their private information. Here we are taking a look at the new privacy features of the instant messenger to let you know exactly how it benefits you. So read on for information.
But it should be noted that as of now, only Android users can make the most of these features and they should arrive soon for the iOS brigade. We had come across a report recently which suggested that the attributes are in store for WhatsApp’s Windows Phone customers as well. But nothing has been officially revealed about the privacy settings’ availability on platforms other than Android.
New privacy features:
So exactly what does the app bring? Well, it finally gives you an option to make your status and profile picture visible to only those you want. You cannot exactly customize, but at least there’s an option to make them accessible only to people in your contacts. There are three options – everyone, my contacts and nobody to choose from.
If you put it on ‘everyone,’ people who have you number will be able to see the said details, like it always was the case with WhatsApp. When you choose ‘my contacts,’ your picture and status message will be visible to those whose numbers you have saved on your handset. And of course, ‘nobody’ means no one can see anything about you, whether they are in your contact list or not.
How can you hide you ‘last seen’ details?
And now for the best part, you can control who can see the time at which you were ‘last seen’ on the app. So if you do not want particular people to see when you were online the last time, you can set it to nobody and it will be accessible to absolutely no one. Like the aforementioned options, this can even be set to everyone and my contacts, depending on your preference.
But there’s a catch. If you hide your last seen from everyone, you cannot see anybody else’s time stamp either. So it is like a tit for tat feature. And it will be worthless to hide it from people when you are using WhatsApp, because as soon as you open the application, everyone will be able to see that you are online.
Conclusion:
We must say that these features make WhatsApp for Android a lot safer than what it was. Initially, your picture and status message were visible to any tom, dick and harry who had your number, but now it is up to you to choose who gets to see them. So what are your views on the new privacy settings? Don’t forget to let us know. And you can hit this link for more information on the application.