WhatsApp’s contacts except feature allows you to control which of your contacts can see your “Last Seen”, profile photo, and “About” status. It gives you more privacy by letting you hide your online presence and profile info from specific people while still allowing you to see their info.
What is Contacts Except in WhatsApp?
The contacts except feature allows you to select specific contacts who will not be able to view your last seen, profile photo, and about info. This creates exceptions for those contacts while everyone else in your contacts list will still be able to see your info as normal.
For example, you can use contacts except to hide your last seen from your coworkers or a specific person while keeping it visible to your friends and family. You can customize it to hide your info from as many or as few people as you want.
How to Use Contacts Except
Using the contacts except feature is simple:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Account > Privacy
- Tap on Last Seen, Profile Photo, or About to open the exception options
- Tap on “My Contacts Except” and select which contacts you want to exclude
This will prevent the selected contacts from seeing your last seen, profile photo, or about info respectively. Everyone else not on the exception list will still be able to view it.
Last Seen Exceptions
The last seen setting controls when your contacts can see the last time you were actively using WhatsApp. There are three options:
- Everyone – All your contacts can see your last seen time
- My Contacts – Only the contacts in your address book can see your last seen time
- My Contacts Except – You can hide your last seen from specific contacts
Using the My Contacts Except option for last seen allows you to be online without specific people knowing you are. This is useful if there are some contacts you don’t want to know when you are actively chatting on WhatsApp.
Profile Photo Exceptions
The profile photo setting controls which of your contacts can see your current WhatsApp profile photo. The options are:
- Everyone – All contacts can see your profile photo
- My Contacts – Only your address book contacts can see your profile photo
- My Contacts Except – You can exclude contacts from seeing your profile photo
Setting profile photo exceptions allows you to hide your profile picture from specific people. This can be useful if there are a few contacts you want to conceal your identity from.
About Info Exceptions
The about setting controls the info in your WhatsApp profile’s “About” section. The options are:
- Everyone – Your about info is visible to all contacts
- My Contacts – Only address book contacts can see your about info
- My Contacts Except – You can exclude contacts from seeing your about info
Using the My Contacts Except option here allows you to hide your personal “About” bio and status from certain contacts. This gives you more control over who can see details like your work info, interests, etc.
Who Can See Your Info
When you set exceptions, there are three categories of people in terms of what info they can see:
- Allowed Contacts – Contacts not on your exceptions lists can see all your info
- Exceptions – These specific contacts cannot see your info for the settings you excepted them from
- Non-Contacts – Anyone not in your address book is blocked from seeing your last seen, profile photo, or about details
So exceptions only apply to the contacts you specifically chose to exclude. Everyone else still has access based on your main privacy settings for last seen, profile photo, and about.
Things to Know About Contacts Except
Here are some additional facts about how the contacts except feature works in WhatsApp:
- You can add multiple exceptions across last seen, profile photo, and about. For example, excluding Bob from seeing your last seen and Jane from seeing your profile photo.
- There are no limits on how many individual contacts you can except.
- Excepted contacts will see your profile picture and last seen as hidden with blank placeholders.
- For group chats, contacts excepted in 1-on-1 chats will still see your info in groups.
- Excepted contacts can still send you messages even if they cannot see your info.
- Calls will still notify contacts you have excepted.
- If you remove a contact from the exceptions list, they will immediately regain access to your info for that setting.
In summary, contacts except gives you customizable control to hide your WhatsApp activity and profile details from specific people you want to exclude without affecting visibility for other contacts.
Excepting Business Accounts
WhatsApp also allows you to except business accounts from seeing your profile info:
- Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > My Contacts Except
- Tap the “Business Accounts” option
- Check the accounts you want to exclude from seeing your info
This prevents those businesses from being able to view your last seen, profile photo, about, or even your online presence within WhatsApp.
Advantages of Using Contacts Except
Here are some of the advantages of using the contacts except feature for privacy:
- Lets you stay hidden from specific people like coworkers, ex-partners, etc.
- More customizable control over who sees your personal info
- Can reduce unwanted messages or contact from certain people
- Allows you to appear offline or anonymous to chosen contacts
- Great for reducing distractions by hiding your online activity
- Helps protect your privacy and gives you peace of mind
Disadvantages of Contacts Except
Some potential disadvantages include:
- Excepted contacts may feel singled out or take offense
- Can seem secretive if you hide from certain people
- Does not prevent contacts from sending you messages
- More complex to manage exceptions for multiple contacts and settings
- Some users may not understand how exceptions work
Who Can See You Have Contacts Except Enabled?
Only you can see your own exceptions lists in WhatsApp. Other contacts have no way of knowing that you have excluded them from seeing your info and settings.
So if you block a contact from seeing your last seen, they will not know they have been added to your exceptions list. WhatsApp does not notify or indicate to your contacts that you have used contacts except on them.
Conclusion
In summary, WhatsApp’s contacts except feature provides a simple but effective way to customize your privacy settings. It lets you hide your online activity, profile picture, and status from specific contacts you want to exclude without them knowing.
Carefully using exceptions can help you manage your availability, reduce distractions, and take control of your privacy on WhatsApp. But be wary of overusing it or excluding contacts without reason as that can seem deceptive.
Overall, contacts except gives you more granular control over your WhatsApp profile at the cost of slightly increased complexity. Adjust your exceptions as needed to find the right balance for your own priorities and preferences.
| Setting | Who Can See | Exception Options |
|---|---|---|
| Last Seen | Everyone, My Contacts, My Contacts Except | Hide last seen time from specific contacts |
| Profile Photo | Everyone, My Contacts, My Contacts Except | Prevent specific contacts from seeing your profile photo |
| About | Everyone, My Contacts, My Contacts Except | Exclude contacts from seeing your About info |
This table summarizes the three profile settings that have contacts except options and who can see your info based on each one.
| Category | Can See Your Info? |
|---|---|
| Allowed Contacts | Yes |
| Excepted Contacts | No |
| Non-Contacts | No |
This table explains which categories of people can and cannot see your WhatsApp profile info when you set exceptions.
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|
| More control over privacy | Can seem secretive |
| Stay hidden from certain people | Exceptions may feel singled out |
| Reduce unwanted contact | Does not block messages |
| Appear offline to chosen contacts | Complex to manage many exceptions |
This table compares some advantages and disadvantages of using WhatsApp’s contacts except feature.