With more than a million people around the world, WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging apps that people use to communicate with friends, family, or colleagues every single day. But there are certain situations where you may not want others to see you active on WhatsApp, either because you want to maintain privacy or you don’t want to be disturbed. The good news is, WhatsApp provides some options to show offline even when you are active, whether it be just to look at messages without responding straight away or to avoid being active.
In this article, we will cover how to appear offline on WhatsApp, the settings to change for privacy purposes, and answer an array of other popular questions. So, let’s begin!
Table of Contents
Why You Might Want to Appear Offline on WhatsApp
You may want to consider appearing offline on WhatsApp for a number of reasons. There are several platforms to learn more.
Privacy: There are moments when you do not want your contacts to know the last time you signed in or the app and when.
Focus: You would prefer to read messages on WhatsApp without feeling the need to respond immediately.
Taking Time Off: It is more about social interactions depletion while avoiding the offense of being – rude.
Restrictions of Notifications: One can also limit the contact who messages one at or during what time, appearing offline helps.
Now that we know why someone would want to appear offline, let me explain the various ways to do this.
How to Appear Offline on WhatsApp
Method 1: Disable ‘Last Seen’ and ‘Online’ Status
WhatsApp gives you versatility in relation to who can view your ‘Last Seen’ and ‘Online’ status. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to disable this feature.
- 1 Open WhatsApp: Begin by opening the WhatsApp application installed on your device.
Navigate through Settings:
- For Android Users: Click on the three vertical dots on the upper right side of the screen and tap on ‘Settings’.
- For iPhone Users: Click on ‘Settings’ which is located on the bottom left of the screen.
Privacy Settings:
- Select ‘Settings’ on the menu provided and click on the ‘Privacy’ option.
- If you want to: Control ‘last seen’ feature settings,
Select ‘Last Seen’ option in the privacy Tab.
- This will display multiple options which are:
- Everyone: Your last seen time can be viewed by everyone.
- Contacts: People who you have saved in your contacts will be able to see your last seen time.
- My Contacts Except: People that are selected will not be able to see your last seen time.
Nobody: Your contacts or anyone else will not be able to see when you were last online at all.
Restrict Everyone from being able to see your ‘Online’ Status: However, one thing that WhatsApp still does not allow is an option to hide online status which is also what this setting falls under but appearing offline is still possible by turning off the ‘Last Seen’ setting.
Although using this method won’t disable online usage activity status but it will allow you to restrict users from knowing when you were last active on the app.
How to Appear Offline on WhatsApp
With the help of WhatsApp, you are able to restrict who gets to view your “Last Seen” and “Online” status. When you wish to deactivate it, here’s what you need to do.
Go to WhatsApp: Find WhatsApp application on your mobile device and click on it.
Access Settings:
Android: Click on the three vertical dots found in the right corner at the top of the screen and then click on the “Settings” tab.
iPhone: On the bottom right corner of the app, click on the “Settings” icon.
Click on Privacy Settings:
Once you are in the settings menu, click on the “Privacy” tab.
Modify “Last Seen” Setting:
Under the Privacy section, there is an option that says “Last Seen.” Click on it.
These are the available ones:
Everyone: Each and every person who uses the app will view the last time you were active.
My Contacts: People who view your last seen time will be those stored in your contacts.
My contacts except: Allow some people from your contacts to view your last seen while others cannot.
Nobody: This means no one will be able to see the time that you were active.
Withdrawing “Online” Status: The feature that permits offline messaging shows that with “Last Seen” turned off, one appears to be offline at all times.
Of course, it allows to some extent manage who sees when last the app was active, but does not stop your online visibility when in the app.
Managing Privacy Settings on WhatsApp
WhatsApp Let’s You Set Higher Levels Of Privacy. You Have More Control Over Your Picture, Status, and Even More features With WhatsApp Settings:
Picture: Control the visibility of your Profile Picture: “Everyone”, “My Contacts” or “Nobody”
Status: Control the visibility of your Status updates. This can be set to “My Contacts”, “My Contacts Except…” or “Only Share With…”
Blocked Contacts: block people that you do not wish to talk to anymore.
Mute Conversations: You may mute conversations so that you do not receive notifications, when you are even shown online.
Do not forget to mute yourself from time to time to make sure you have not been disturbed and that your privacy, indeed, has been protected.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can I completely hide my online status on WhatsApp?
All users are online which means unless the user disables the Last Seen option, WhatsApp does not allow a user to hide their online activity. However, the user can disable the last option and using airplane mode while utilizing the app.
2. Can I read messages without the sender knowing?
Yes you can turn off read receipts or use AnaerPlane mode so that you can read the content while having a conversation and blue check marks or the sender will never know.
3. Does using Airplane Mode make me appear offline on WhatsApp?
For WhatsApp users who have enabled their air mode they will have a really difficult time going offline to provide the user the satisfaction of reading and replying messages in online fashion while the internet remains off. However, the same applies when the airplane mode is disabled the user appears online and the read messages while receiving them, gets discharged.
4. Can I hide my WhatsApp profile picture?
Yes, there is an option to eliminate the visibility of your profile picture to specific numbers or to a whole contact list using the privacy settings of the application.
