WhatsApp Spotted With a New Custom Privacy Setting for ‘About’ Status Updates for Android Users

WhatsApp has been discovered to test new custom privacy settings for Android users, allowing them to hide their “About” status updates from specific contacts. The option to hide the “About” status from specific contacts (not yet available to beta testers) will be provided along with existing privacy options.

This change is likely to be part of previously discovered enhanced privacy settings, and can also be used for Last Seen and Profile Photo updates on instant messaging apps. In a report, WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo shared a screenshot showing the new custom privacy settings on the app to hide “About” status updates for specific contacts. Its title is My Contacts, except… and seems to be available with the existing “Everyone”, “My Contacts” and “Nobody” privacy options.

Users who choose the new privacy settings will be able to exclude certain people from their contacts who can no longer see their “About” status updates. WABetaInfo has found new settings in WhatsApp for Android beta 2.21.21.8, although it is not yet available to beta testers and is said to be still under development. Except for my contacts… The options may not be limited to the “About” privacy setting, but can also be used for last seen and profile photo updates, as previously suggested by WABetaInfo.

Last week, screenshots of the privacy settings options for profile photos on WhatsApp for Android also appeared online. Initially, WhatsApp introduced the Except My Contacts… option for its status feature in 2017. It was later extended to group privacy settings in November 2019. The exact details of when the update will be provided to users have not been disclosed. However, considering WhatsApp’s history of long-term testing of new features before they go live, it is unlikely that the custom privacy settings for “About” status updates will be available to end users in the short term.

News Source : Gadgets 360