WhatsApp status allows you to share photos, videos, and messages that disappear after 24 hours. By default, your status updates are viewable by all of your WhatsApp contacts. However, you may want to turn off your status for certain contacts while still allowing others to view your updates.
There are a few different ways to turn off your WhatsApp status for specific contacts on both iPhone and Android devices. In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to hide your status from individual people or groups on WhatsApp.
Why Would You Want to Turn Off Your WhatsApp Status for Someone?
Here are some common reasons why you may want to turn off your WhatsApp status for just one person or a few select contacts:
- Privacy – You may want to limit who can view details about your activity and location.
- Avoiding unwanted attention – For example, turning off your status for an ex or someone you don’t talk to regularly.
- Showing your status to some friends but not others – You can customize who gets to see your daily updates.
- Blocking someone from interacting with your status – Preventing certain contacts from replying to or reacting to your status.
The ability to customize your audience for WhatsApp status updates gives you more control over who can get insight into your daily life from your status. It allows you to share fun updates with your close friends while limiting status access from other contacts.
How to Turn Off WhatsApp Status for Individual Contacts on iPhone
If you have an iPhone and want to turn off your WhatsApp status for specific people, follow these steps:
- Open the WhatsApp app and tap on the Settings tab in the bottom right.
- Go to Account > Privacy.
- Tap on Status > My Contacts Except.
- This will bring up your full contacts list. Tap on the contacts you want to block from viewing your status.
- Selected contacts will be marked with a red minus icon. Tap Done when you’ve selected everyone you want to block.
Now when you update your status, it will not be shown to the contacts you have blocked. They will still be able to send you messages as normal.
Turning Off WhatsApp Status for Groups on iPhone
You can also stop your status updates from being seen by entire WhatsApp groups using the iPhone app:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Status.
- Tap on My Contacts Except.
- At the top of the screen, tap on Groups to view all your group chats.
- Tap the red minus icon next to each group you want to block from seeing your status.
- Tap Done when finished.
This will prevent all members of the selected groups from viewing or interacting with your status going forward.
How to Turn Off WhatsApp Status for Contacts on Android
The process works similarly on Android devices:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the three dot menu in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings > Account > Privacy.
- Tap Status > My contacts except.
- Select the contacts you want to hide your status from.
- Tap the check mark icon to save your settings.
This will make your status updates invisible to only those selected contacts when you post a new update in the future.
Blocking Groups from Seeing Your Status on Android
Here is how to stop your status being shown to specific WhatsApp groups if you use an Android phone:
- Open WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Status.
- Tap My Contacts Except.
- Now tap the Groups option at the top of the screen.
- Select the groups you want to exclude by tapping the checkbox next to each one.
- Tap the check icon to save your group selections.
Going forward, your status updates will not be visible to members of those selected groups.
Turning Off Status for Individual Contacts in WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business gives businesses a dedicated app for interacting with customers. If you use WhatsApp Business, here is how to turn off your status for specific contacts:
- Open WhatsApp Business and tap the three dot menu.
- Go to Settings > Privacy > Status > My Contacts Except.
- Select the contacts you want to exclude from seeing your status.
- Tap OK to save your settings.
Now your status will be hidden from view for those chosen contacts when you post a new update in WhatsApp Business.
Stopping Groups from Seeing Your Status in WhatsApp Business
Follow these steps in WhatsApp Business to stop groups from being able to view your status:
- Go to WhatsApp Business Settings > Privacy > Status > My Contacts Except.
- Tap on the Groups option at the top of the screen.
- Select the groups you want to hide your status from.
- Tap OK to apply your group selections.
This will prevent the members of the chosen groups from seeing or interacting with your WhatsApp Business status updates.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you’ve followed the steps but certain contacts or groups are still able to view your WhatsApp status, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Double check that you selected the right contacts/groups to exclude. Go back to the status privacy settings to verify.
- Make sure you tap Done or OK after selecting contacts to save your choices.
- Force quit and relaunch the WhatsApp app after changing settings.
- Update to the latest version of WhatsApp in case of a bug.
- Log out and back into your WhatsApp account to refresh privacy settings.
- As a last resort, delete and reinstall WhatsApp to reset all settings.
Following these steps should help resolve any issues getting status privacy working properly in WhatsApp.
What Happens When You Turn Off Status for Someone?
When you block contacts or groups from seeing your WhatsApp status, here is what happens:
- They will no longer see your status updates in the chat list or on your profile.
- The status tab will show “You turned off status updates” for them.
- They can’t react or reply to your statuses.
- You will not be notified if they view your profile or “about” info.
- They can still message and call you as normal.
Essentially, turning off status acts like making your updates invisible to selected contacts or groups. Everything else in WhatsApp works normally.
Does Turning Off Status Notify that Contact?
When you exclude someone from seeing your WhatsApp status, they do not receive any notification about this change. The status privacy settings are completely silent to the affected contacts.
So contacts will not know if you have deliberately turned off your status for them specifically. All they will see is that your status updates are unavailable, the same as if you had stopped posting statuses entirely.
Can They Still View My Old Statuses?
Blocking a contact from your WhatsApp status only applies to newly posted status updates going forward. It does not retroactively hide your previous status updates.
So if someone was able to view your status updates in the past before you blocked them, they will still have access to those old status photos and videos. But any new status updates posted after blocking them will not be visible.
Can I Get in Trouble for Turning Off My Status?
Using WhatsApp’s status privacy settings as described in this article is perfectly fine and cannot get you into trouble with WhatsApp.
These are built-in settings designed to give you more control over your status audience. You have full discretion to turn off status for whoever you want among your contacts without issue.
Should I Tell People I Turned Off My Status?
Since turning off status does not notify the affected contacts, it is up to your discretion whether to tell people you have blocked them.
Letting someone know directly can avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings compared to them finding out on their own. But you are not obligated to tell contacts when you restrict status access.
Can I Get Blocked from Someone Else’s Status?
Yes, the status privacy settings work both ways. Just like you can turn off your status for specific people, other WhatsApp users can also block you from seeing their status updates if they choose.
You will not receive any notification if someone blocks you. You will simply see a message saying “Status updates turned off” when you view their profile.
Should I Be Offended if Someone Blocks My Status Access?
Try not to take offense if you find out someone has restricted you from viewing their WhatsApp status updates. They may have personal reasons unrelated to you.
For example, someone may generally limit status access to close friends and family. Or they may turn off status during certain situations for privacy reasons. It’s not necessarily meant as an insult towards you.
Conclusion
Customizing your WhatsApp status audience is easy on both iPhones and Android phones. Simply go to the status privacy settings and select the contacts and groups you want to block from seeing your updates.
Turning off status for someone can help increase privacy, avoid unwanted attention, customize who sees your updates, and prevent interactions from specific people. It does not notify the blocked contacts.
Keep in mind that status settings only apply going forward. Blocked contacts can still see your previous status updates. But this gives you more granular control over who gets insight into your daily life through your WhatsApp status activity.
| Platform | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | Open WhatsApp Settings | Go to Account > Privacy | Tap Status > My Contacts Except | Select contacts to block |
| Android | Open WhatsApp Settings | Go to Account > Privacy | Tap Status > My Contacts Except | Select contacts to block |
This table summarizes the key steps to turn off WhatsApp status for individual contacts on iOS and Android devices. Following these steps allows you to customize your status audience on a granular level for more privacy and control.
More WhatsApp Tips
Adjusting your WhatsApp privacy settings is one way to get more control over your account. Here are some other WhatsApp tips and tricks you may find useful:
Pin Conversations
Pin up to 3 chats to the top of your WhatsApp screen for quick access to your most important conversations.
Mute Groups
If a busy group is flooding your notifications, you can mute it for 8 hours, 1 week, or 1 year.
Organize Chats
Use the chat pinning, archiving, and starring features to keep your WhatsApp messages organized.
Customize Notifications
Change WhatsApp notification settings for mute durations, previews, tones, and more.
Search Messages
Use the search tool to quickly find any message, link, photo, or other media sent in WhatsApp chats.
Make the most of WhatsApp by personalizing settings to suit your preferences. Adjusting privacy and notifications can help reduce distractions and customize your experience.