The WhatsApp online status allows you to see when your contacts were last using WhatsApp. It shows you whether they are currently online, when they were last seen, and some other status indicators.
How does the WhatsApp online status work?
The WhatsApp online status feature shows you the following information for your contacts:
- Online – indicates your contact is currently using WhatsApp
- Last seen at [time] – shows when your contact last opened WhatsApp
- Typing… – appears when your contact is typing a message to you
- Recording… – displays when your contact is recording a voice message to send you
By default, your contacts can see your last seen and online status. You can disable this in your WhatsApp privacy settings if you don’t want others to see it.
What do the different online status indicators mean?
Here is more detail on what each online status indicator means in WhatsApp:
Online
The “online” status means your contact has WhatsApp open and connected to the internet. It shows they are actively using the app at that moment.
The online status appears when you open WhatsApp and disappears after a few minutes of inactivity or when you close the app.
Last seen at [time]
The “last seen at” indicator shows the latest time your contact used WhatsApp. It will display the exact date and time they last opened the app.
For example, it may show “Last seen at 5:30 PM” or “Last seen yesterday at 3:12 AM”.
This gives you a general idea of when the person last opened WhatsApp. However, it won’t show every single time they opened the app, only the most recent.
Typing…
The “typing…” status means your contact is currently typing a message to you in the chat. It appears as soon as they start composing a message and goes away once they send it or exit the chat.
This indicator lets you know your contact is about to send you something right away. You’ll often see the “typing” notification come and go as the person starts and stops typing.
Recording…
You’ll see “recording…” when your contact is recording a voice message to send you. Like “typing…”, it shows they are actively putting together a message for you.
The “recording” status appears as soon as they start recording and disappears once they send the voice message or stop recording.
Can you tell if someone’s reading your messages?
No, there is no read receipt or delivered confirmation for messages in WhatsApp like there is on platforms like iMessage.
You can’t directly tell when your contacts have opened or read your messages on WhatsApp. The app does not have read receipts.
The closest thing is the “last seen at” status – if you see it update after you send a message, that indicates they likely saw your message. However, it’s not guaranteed.
Who can see your WhatsApp online status?
By default, all of your WhatsApp contacts can view your last seen and online status. However, you can configure who sees it in your privacy settings.
To change who can see your status, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy.
From here, you can set your “Last Seen”, “Profile Photo”, and “About” to be seen by:
- Everyone
- My Contacts
- My Contacts Except…
- Nobody
Setting it to “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except…” will limit your status visibility to people in your address book only. “Nobody” hides it from everyone.
Can you see someone’s status if they disabled it?
If one of your contacts has disabled their “last seen” status, you won’t be able to view it. You’ll see “last seen a long time ago” instead of a date and time.
Similarly, if they’ve set their status to be visible to “Nobody”, you won’t see any information on when they last used WhatsApp.
Your contact is in control of their own status privacy settings. If they’ve disabled it, you can’t view their last seen or online status.
Conclusion
The WhatsApp online status gives you visibility into when your contacts are actively using WhatsApp. It shows you info like “online”, “last seen at”, and message indicators.
While it doesn’t provide read receipts, you can get a general sense of if and when someone has seen your messages based on status updates. Keep in mind they have control over their privacy settings.
Overall, the online status indicators are useful for understanding your contacts’ WhatsApp activity and knowing if they are currently available for a chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the blue check mark mean on WhatsApp?
The blue check marks on WhatsApp indicate your message has been successfully sent and delivered to the contact’s device. A single check means it was sent, double check means delivered.
Can I see if someone is online on WhatsApp without them knowing?
No, there is no way to secretly view someone’s WhatsApp online status without them knowing. They control who can see their last seen and online status in their privacy settings.
Why can I see some contacts’ last seen but not others?
This means the contacts you can’t see the last seen for have set their privacy setting to be visible to “Nobody” or “My Contacts Except…”. You can only see the status of contacts who have it enabled for you.
Can I appear offline on WhatsApp but still use it?
Sort of – you can disable your last seen status so no one sees when you’re online. However, anyone you chat with while “invisible” will still see you’re online. There is no true invisible mode.
How often does WhatsApp update the last seen status?
WhatsApp updates your last seen every time you open or close the app. It won’t show every single time, but rather just the most recent. It updates this status approximately every 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Key Takeaways
- WhatsApp status shows when contacts are online, last seen, typing, and recording voice messages.
- “Last seen at” shows the latest time a contact used the app.
- You can’t see message read statuses, only indirect clues like last seen updates.
- Contacts control their own last seen and online visibility in settings.
- There is no invisible mode, but you can hide your status from contacts.