WhatsApp status allows you to share photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. By default, your status updates are visible to all your WhatsApp contacts. However, for privacy reasons, you may want to hide your status from certain contacts while still sharing it with others. Luckily, WhatsApp provides options to customize your status privacy.
In this article, we will discuss different ways to hide your WhatsApp status from specific contacts or groups so that you can control who gets to view your updates.
Why Would You Want to Hide Your WhatsApp Status?
Here are some common reasons why people want to hide their WhatsApp status from others:
– Privacy – To prevent nosy contacts from snooping on your activities or knowing your whereabouts. You may want to share status updates with only your close friends.
– Avoid unwanted attention – Some contacts may interpret your status updates the wrong way and start unwelcome conversations. Hiding status can prevent this.
– Professional reasons – You may want to maintain a professional reputation at work by hiding your personal life from colleagues.
– Avoid contacts who misuse status – Some people screenshot your status and share it without consent. Hiding from them prevents misuse.
– Hide from specific people – You may want to hide your status from your parents, siblings or any other contacts for personal reasons.
Steps to Hide WhatsApp Status from Specific Contacts
Follow these simple steps to hide your WhatsApp status from selected contacts:
1. Open WhatsApp on your phone.
2. Tap on the 3-dot menu icon at the top right corner of your screen.
3. Select Settings > Account > Privacy.
4. Tap on Status.
5. Under “Who can see my status updates”, choose “My Contacts Except…”.
6. This will open your contacts list. Select the contacts you want to exclude by tapping on the circle next to their names.
7. Once done, tap OK at the bottom to confirm your selections.
That’s it! Your status updates will no longer be visible to the contacts you excluded. They will now see “This user’s status updates are not available” when trying to view your status.
Important Points
– You can hide your status from as many individual contacts as you want through this method.
– If you have previously hidden your status from a contact and now wish to undo it, simply follow the same steps and deselect their name from the list.
– This will only hide your future status updates. Any previous status already seen by those contacts cannot be hidden retroactively.
How to Hide Status from Entire Groups or Contacts
In addition to individual contacts, WhatsApp also allows you to hide status from entire groups and categories of contacts in one go:
Hide from all contacts:
1. Go to Status Privacy settings.
2. Choose “Only share with…” option.
3. Tap on “Nobody” and confirm. This will hide your status from all contacts.
Hide from all groups:
1. Go to Status Privacy settings.
2. Choose “My Contacts Except…” option.
3. Select all groups to exclude them. Tap OK.
Hide from non-contacts:
1. Go to Status Privacy settings.
2. Choose “My Contacts” option. This will make your status visible only to saved contacts.
The advantage of hiding status this way is that you don’t have to select contacts one by one. Just exclude the whole category in one tap.
How to Hide WhatsApp Status from Android or iPhone Contacts Only
If you want to hide status from all contacts using a particular device, like Android or iPhone, follow these steps:
1. Go to Status Privacy settings.
2. Choose “My Contacts Except…” option.
3. Tap on the menu option on top right corner of the screen.
4. Select Android contacts or iPhone contacts from the list based on device you want to hide from.
5. Confirm to hide status from that device category.
This is useful when you want to limit visibility based on mobile platforms. For example, hide from family using iPhones while showing updates to friends on Android.
Hide Seen Status Updates from Specific Contacts
In addition to hiding your own status, you can also prevent certain contacts from seeing when you have viewed their status updates:
1. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy.
2. Select Last Seen & Online.
3. Tap on “Who can see my last seen”.
4. Choose “My Contacts Except…” and select contacts to exclude.
This will hide your ‘seen’ receipts only from those specific people while letting others see it. Useful when you want to view someone’s status secretly without them knowing.
How to Hide WhatsApp Status Using Third-party Apps
Some third-party apps help hide WhatsApp status easily without going through Settings each time:
Hide It Pro (Android)
This app lets you hide status from non-saved contacts in one tap. It also has option to disable read receipts for specific chats.
Status Saver (Android)
It lets you hide status as well as save others’ status, videos, images anonymously without letting them know.
Watusi (iOS)
Advanced paid app that offers hide status feature along with many other customizations for WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Plus (Android)
Modded version of WhatsApp with inbuilt feature to hide status from blocked contacts and hide double ticks.
However, using unofficial third-party apps can lead to ban by WhatsApp. Use at your own risk!
Can Contacts Know If You Have Hidden Your Status from Them?
No, contacts whom you have excluded from your status privacy settings have no way of knowing that you have hidden your status specifically from them.
When those contacts try to view your status updates, they simply see a general message saying “This user’s status updates are not available”. There is no indication they are blocked from seeing it.
So hiding status is completely anonymous. The contacts you hid it from won’t even realize it was intentional unless you actually tell them so.
What Happens When You Block Someone on WhatsApp?
Blocking a contact on WhatsApp not only stops them from messaging or calling you, it also hides your status updates from their view.
So if you block a contact, it automatically prevents them from accessing your WhatsApp status as long as they remain blocked. They will get the standard “Status updates not available” message on trying to view your status.
The advantage of blocking over just hiding status is that the contact remains unaware that you have intentionally hidden your status from them. They will assume it’s a consequence of being blocked.
However, remember that blocking is irreversible. The contact will be deleted from your contacts and you will lose their chat history. Unblocking them later will not restore these.
Can Contacts Bypass Hidden Status Privacy?
While WhatsApp status privacy works well for the most part, there are still some workaround methods motivated contacts could use to bypass your settings and view your hidden status updates:
– Using third-party apps like WhatsTracker that grab your status data from WhatsApp servers and display it externally.
– Viewing your status updates from a common friend’s phone who still has access.
– Creating a new WhatsApp account to circumvent your privacy settings.
– Physically accessing your phone when you’re unaware.
Therefore, while status privacy adds an extra layer of control, it cannot fully prevent other users from snooping if they are determined enough. The most foolproof way is still to avoid posting private or controversial status updates and be careful about who you associate with on WhatsApp.
Troubleshooting When Someone Can Still View Hidden Status
If some contacts are still able to view your WhatsApp status even after you have hidden it from them, here are some things you can check:
– Make sure you selected the right contact’s name from the list when hiding status. Check again and confirm.
– Verify that you tapped OK after choosing contacts to confirm your selection.
– Check if the contact is viewing your status updates from a common friend’s device who still has access.
– Clear WhatsApp cache and data then reboot device to refresh privacy settings.
– Update to the latest version of WhatsApp in case there is a bug in the older version.
– Change your privacy setting from “My Contacts Except…” to “Only Share With…” and select all allowed contacts individually.
If the issue still persists, get in touch with WhatsApp Support for further help in troubleshooting the problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hiding status also hide my online presence?
No, the Last Seen & Online privacy settings control who can see when you were last online in WhatsApp. Your online presence is not affected by hiding status updates.
Can I hide my status from new contacts?
Yes, enable the option to hide status from “Contacts except…” and choose all new contacts by default. As you save new contacts, select them individually in status privacy to reveal your status to them.
Is there any limit on how many contacts I can hide status from?
No, you can hide your WhatsApp status from as many individual contacts or contact groups as you want. There is no limit.
Can I hide status from contacts living in other countries?
Unfortunately no, WhatsApp does not allow you to filter contacts by location or country to hide status. You will have to select each international contact manually.
Will hiding status also hide my profile photo and about info?
No, status privacy only applies to your status updates, not your profile details. Your profile photo and about info will remain visible.
Conclusion
WhatsApp status privacy gives you finer control over who gets to view your status updates. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily hide your WhatsApp status from specific contacts, groups or categories that you don’t want snooping on your personal updates.
Just be aware that determined contacts can still find workarounds to bypass your settings. So avoid posting too personal or controversial status updates to stay safe. Use the privacy settings wisely to balance your social connectivity with privacy.