WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. While WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption for messages, there are still some privacy settings you should adjust to keep your account secure and limit who can see your information. In this article, we’ll go over the key WhatsApp privacy settings and recommend what they should be set to for optimum privacy.
Profile Photo Privacy
Your profile photo is one of the main ways people identify you on WhatsApp. By default, your profile photo is visible to all WhatsApp users. This allows anyone with your phone number to see your profile photo, even if they are not your contacts.
To limit access to your profile photo, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy and switch the profile photo setting from “Everyone” to “My Contacts”. This will restrict your profile photo visibility to only the contacts in your address book.
We recommend setting your profile photo visibility to “My Contacts” to avoid random strangers being able to view and potentially misuse your profile photo.
About Privacy
The About section on WhatsApp allows you to set a status message that summarizes your current activity or mood. By default, the About section is visible to all WhatsApp users.
To limit who can see your About status, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy and change the About visibility from “Everyone” to “My Contacts”. This will make your About status viewable only by your saved contacts.
Setting your About section to “My Contacts” prevents spammers and unknown users from knowing your status or any personal details you put in the About section.
Last Seen Privacy
WhatsApp’s Last Seen feature shows your contacts the last time you were actively using the app. It can reveal details about your online habits and availability.
The Last Seen setting has three options:
- Everyone – All users can see your Last Seen
- My Contacts – Only your contacts can see your Last Seen
- Same as Last Seen – Only users you’ve chosen can see your Last Seen
We recommend setting your Last Seen to “My Contacts” or “Same as Last Seen”. These restrict Last Seen access to only people you know and trust. Setting Last Seen to “Everyone” allows anyone to monitor when you’re accessing WhatsApp.
Profile Privacy
The Profile section of WhatsApp displays your name, profile photo, status and “About” information. By default, anyone with your phone number can view your Profile.
To limit Profile access go to Settings > Account > Privacy and change “Who can see my personal info” to “My Contacts” or “Same as Last Seen”. These settings prevent unknown users seeing any of your Profile details or activity status.
Read Receipts Privacy
Read receipts show when you’ve read a message in WhatsApp. They are enabled by default so your contacts can see when you’ve read their messages.
However, having read receipts enabled means anyone you chat with can monitor when you’ve viewed their messages. This could reveal sensitive details about your online activity and habits.
To disable read receipts, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy and switch “Read Receipts” to Off. This prevents contacts from seeing read information for your messages.
Live Location Privacy
WhatsApp’s Live Location feature allows real-time location sharing with contacts. It can be convenient but also poses privacy risks if accessed by unwanted users.
To control Live Location privacy, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Live Location and change the setting from “Everyone” to “My Contacts”. This ensures only your trusted contacts can request or view your Live Location.
Groups Privacy
WhatsApp Groups have settings that control if unknown users can view and add you to groups.
The default setting “Everyone” allows any WhatsApp user to view and add you to groups without your approval. This opens the door to spammers force adding you to unwanted groups.
To prevent this, go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups and switch “Who can add me to groups” to “My Contacts”. Also switch “Who can see my group info” to “My Contacts” to hide your Groups from strangers.
Profile Photo Privacy
Your profile photo is one of the main ways people identify you on WhatsApp. By default, your profile photo is visible to all WhatsApp users. This allows anyone with your phone number to see your profile photo, even if they are not your contacts.
To limit access to your profile photo, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy and switch the profile photo setting from “Everyone” to “My Contacts”. This will restrict your profile photo visibility to only the contacts in your address book.
We recommend setting your profile photo visibility to “My Contacts” to avoid random strangers being able to view and potentially misuse your profile photo.
About Privacy
The About section on WhatsApp allows you to set a status message that summarizes your current activity or mood. By default, the About section is visible to all WhatsApp users.
To limit who can see your About status, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy and change the About visibility from “Everyone” to “My Contacts”. This will make your About status viewable only by your saved contacts.
Setting your About section to “My Contacts” prevents spammers and unknown users from knowing your status or any personal details you put in the About section.
Last Seen Privacy
WhatsApp’s Last Seen feature shows your contacts the last time you were actively using the app. It can reveal details about your online habits and availability.
The Last Seen setting has three options:
- Everyone – All users can see your Last Seen
- My Contacts – Only your contacts can see your Last Seen
- Same as Last Seen – Only users you’ve chosen can see your Last Seen
We recommend setting your Last Seen to “My Contacts” or “Same as Last Seen”. These restrict Last Seen access to only people you know and trust. Setting Last Seen to “Everyone” allows anyone to monitor when you’re accessing WhatsApp.
Profile Privacy
The Profile section of WhatsApp displays your name, profile photo, status and “About” information. By default, anyone with your phone number can view your Profile.
To limit Profile access go to Settings > Account > Privacy and change “Who can see my personal info” to “My Contacts” or “Same as Last Seen”. These settings prevent unknown users seeing any of your Profile details or activity status.
Read Receipts Privacy
Read receipts show when you’ve read a message in WhatsApp. They are enabled by default so your contacts can see when you’ve read their messages.
However, having read receipts enabled means anyone you chat with can monitor when you’ve viewed their messages. This could reveal sensitive details about your online activity and habits.
To disable read receipts, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy and switch “Read Receipts” to Off. This prevents contacts from seeing read information for your messages.
Live Location Privacy
WhatsApp’s Live Location feature allows real-time location sharing with contacts. It can be convenient but also poses privacy risks if accessed by unwanted users.
To control Live Location privacy, go to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Live Location and change the setting from “Everyone” to “My Contacts”. This ensures only your trusted contacts can request or view your Live Location.
Groups Privacy
WhatsApp Groups have settings that control if unknown users can view and add you to groups.
The default setting “Everyone” allows any WhatsApp user to view and add you to groups without your approval. This opens the door to spammers force adding you to unwanted groups.
To prevent this, go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups and switch “Who can add me to groups” to “My Contacts”. Also switch “Who can see my group info” to “My Contacts” to hide your Groups from strangers.
Conclusion
WhatsApp provides granular privacy controls that allow you to limit access to your personal information and online activity status. While WhatsApp has end-to-end encrypted messaging, the peripheral account information and settings can still reveal details about you.
To maximize your privacy it’s important to set your WhatsApp settings to restrict access to “My Contacts” or “Same as Last Seen” for:
- Profile Photo
- About Section
- Last Seen
- Profile Info
- Live Location
- Groups
Following these recommendations prevents random WhatsApp users and spammers from accessing your personal details or activity status without your approval. Always keep your app updated and use a strong passphrase to secure your account. With the right settings, WhatsApp can provide secure private messaging without compromising your information.