WhatsApp introduces a new feature to maintain privacy by hiding the “last seen” status from people you do not know or have not had a conversation with previously in the application, according to what was announced by the “WABetaInfo” website.
The app previously launched the feature to hide your status from "everyone" by default, which prevents anyone on WhatsApp from seeing your status.
The new WhatsApp update limits the people who can see your status, and limits them only to those you have added on your app, so that the feature automatically links to “My Contacts.”
In a tweet on Twitter, one of the users said that he was having trouble seeing the statuses of other people on the application, and WhatsApp sent an email describing the new feature in response to his tweet.
The email said that the new feature "prevents people you don't know or have a conversation with from seeing your last online appearance on WhatsApp."
@WhatsApp is there anyone who is facing the same problem like me i cant see anyones last seen on whatsapp today although its working fine but last seen status showing nothing for last 4,6 hours???
— Msg abbasi (@AbbasiMsg) December 7, 2021
The 'My Contacts' option to see their 'last seen' status was already available, but it wasn't the primary option on the app and you needed to link it yourself.
It is also noted that WhatsApp already has a "Nobody" option as well, which prevents all users from seeing your status.
Your WhatsApp status lets other contacts know when you were last connected to the app, or if you're currently using the app.
While it seems harmless to find out the status of your friends and family and vice versa, Wapita Info notes that some third-party apps are already taking advantage of this feature.
These applications may collect statuses of specific users, which may enable some parties to closely monitor others who use the application.
Turning on the option to select See user status on My Contacts prevents third-party apps from recording your online status, because the app is not considered one of your contacts, so strangers won't be able to see your status.
This isn't the only change WhatsApp is making to the "last seen" status. Last November, Wabeta Info discovered that the messaging app had begun testing an option called "My contacts except..", which allows users to hide their status from Specific contacts and assign them to specific people.
WhatsApp is also enhancing user privacy by offering an option to make the disappearing messaging feature the default.