In the ongoing negotiation between connection and privacy, WhatsApp has introduced a more nuanced instrument for managing digital boundaries — one that allows users to remain present in someone's contact list while quietly withdrawing certain personal signals from their view. The update, rolling out globally this week to iPhone and Android users, reflects a broader cultural reckoning with the social costs of visibility in messaging platforms. It is a small but meaningful acknowledgment that human relationships rarely fit neatly into the categories of 'everyone' or 'no one.'
WhatsApp adds granular privacy controls to hide profile data from specific contacts
You can now select specific people to exclude from seeing your profile
Mark
So WhatsApp is letting people hide their profile from specific contacts now. Why does that matter? Isn't the old system—everyone, contacts, or nobody—enough?
Mimi
The old system forces you into a box. You might want to stay connected to someone for work or family reasons, but you don't want them seeing when you're online or what your profile photo is. Now you can do that.
Luke
Right, but I want to be clear about what this actually does. It's not blocking the person. They can still message you. You're just hiding three specific data points from them.
Mimi
Exactly. It's about granularity. Real life is messy—you have people you need to keep in your contacts but don't necessarily want to share everything with.
Mark
And the reciprocal thing with last seen—if you hide it from someone, you can't see theirs either. That seems like a limitation.
Luke
It does, but it's also a design choice that makes sense. If you're hiding your activity from someone, the system assumes you don't want to see theirs either. It's not a technical limitation; it's a policy.
Mimi
It prevents a weird asymmetry where you're monitoring someone while they can't monitor you. There's something fair about that.
Mark
What about the other features they announced? Are those equally useful?
Luke
The group call muting and messaging features are straightforward quality-of-life improvements. The Android-to-iPhone transfer is more significant—it removes a real barrier to switching phones.
Mimi
That's been a pain point for years. People stay on Android partly because moving to iPhone meant losing their chat history or having to manually export everything.
Mark
So this is WhatsApp trying to make switching easier?
Luke
Or making their platform stickier by removing friction. Either way, it's a practical improvement for users who want to change devices.
Il Polso
- The old binary — show everything, show nothing, or show only contacts — left users with no middle ground when navigating complicated relationships online.
- WhatsApp's new 'My contacts except…' option lets users surgically exclude specific people from seeing their profile photo, about section, and last seen status without going dark for everyone else.
- There is a built-in cost: hiding your last seen from someone means you forfeit the ability to see theirs, a reciprocal rule that keeps the system from becoming a one-sided surveillance tool.
- The update is live globally on both major platforms, tucked into account privacy settings, and arrives alongside new group call controls and a long-awaited Android-to-iPhone chat history transfer now entering beta.
In the ongoing negotiation between connection and privacy, WhatsApp has introduced a more nuanced instrument for managing digital boundaries — one that allows users to remain present in someone's contact list while quietly withdrawing certain personal signals from their view. The update, rolling out globally this week to iPhone and Android users, reflects a broader cultural reckoning with the social costs of visibility in messaging platforms. It is a small but meaningful acknowledgment that human relationships rarely fit neatly into the categories of 'everyone' or 'no one.'
WhatsApp is giving users a more precise set of tools for managing who sees what about them. The platform announced this week the rollout of a fourth privacy tier for profile photos, about sections, and last seen timestamps — one designed to let users stay connected to someone without broadcasting their availability or personal details to that specific person.
The new setting, called 'My contacts except…,' allows users to hand-pick individuals from their contact list to exclude from certain profile information. It fills a gap that the previous three options — visible to everyone, contacts only, or no one — could not address: the need for selective, relationship-specific discretion.
One trade-off comes with the feature. If you choose to hide your last seen status from someone, the system reciprocally prevents you from seeing theirs. It is a symmetry built into the design, ensuring the tool cannot be used as a one-way window.
The privacy update arrives as part of a wider set of changes. WhatsApp is also introducing group call controls, including the ability to mute individual participants or message them directly without leaving the call, along with a new indicator for when additional people join large conversations.
Separately, the platform announced an expansion of its chat transfer capability. Users switching from Android to iPhone can now move their full conversation history — including photos, videos, and voice messages — using Apple's Move to iOS app. The reverse direction had existed for some time, but Android-to-iPhone transfers previously required cumbersome workarounds. The feature is currently in beta, with a full release to follow, and stands to remove one of the more persistent friction points for users considering a switch between platforms.
WhatsApp is giving its users a new way to manage who sees what about them. The messaging platform announced this week that it's rolling out a fourth privacy option for profile photos, status messages, and activity timestamps—one that lets you keep certain people in the dark while remaining visible to everyone else.
Until now, the choices were binary: everyone could see your information, only your contacts could, or nobody could. The new setting, labeled "My contacts except…," splits the difference. You can now select specific people from your contact list to exclude from viewing your profile photo, your about section, and your last seen status. It's a granular control that addresses a real friction point in how people manage their digital boundaries—the need to stay connected to someone without broadcasting your availability or personal details to them.
The feature has been available to a limited group of beta testers, but as of this week it's rolling out globally to both iPhone and Android users. You'll find it in your account settings under the privacy section. There is one trade-off worth noting: if you hide your last seen status from someone, you lose the ability to see theirs as well. It's a reciprocal limitation built into the system.
The privacy update is part of a broader set of changes WhatsApp is introducing. The app is also adding controls for group calls, including the ability to mute specific participants or send direct messages to individuals without leaving the call. A new indicator will show users when additional people join large calls, making it easier to track who's in the conversation.
In a separate move, WhatsApp announced it's expanding its chat transfer capabilities. Users can now move their conversation history, photos, videos, and voice messages from Android to iPhone using Apple's Move to iOS app. Previously, the transfer only worked in the opposite direction—from iPhone to Android—and users switching platforms had to resort to workarounds. The Android-to-iPhone transfer is rolling out now in beta, with the full release expected to follow. For people who've hesitated to switch phones because of the friction involved in moving their WhatsApp data, this removes a significant barrier.
Citazioni salienti
WhatsApp announced the ability to select who from your contact list can see your profile photo, about, and last seen status— WhatsApp official announcement
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