WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app in the world. The popular messaging app allows users to increase their privacy by adjusting privacy settings on the platform.
This helps you restrict what other users can know about you such as when you last used WhatsApp to restricting the data WhatsApp collects about you. Here’s a quick look at measures you can take and WhatsApp settings you can adjust to protect your information.
- Limit who can see your profile photo.
- Limit who can see your status.
- Disable read receipts.
- Activate disappearing messages.
- Activate disappearing messages in group chats.
- Use a reputable VPN like NordVPN to further increase your privacy
WhatsApp collects your personal data such as your IP address which they use to target you with ads. A VPN will mask your IP address and allow you to surf the web anonymously and securely.
Read our full article below to learn all about WhatsApp privacy settings and step-by-step instructions on how to adjust them on both Android and iPhone.
WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging apps globally, with billions of users exchanging messages daily. To use it safely, you must update your WhatsApp privacy settings regularly.
WhatsApp has several privacy settings and features that give users control over the information they share, who they share it with, and how they communicate with others on the platform.
In this article, we are going to take a look at WhatsApp’s privacy settings you can adjust, so you can protect your personal information, limit the visibility of your online activity, and maintain control over your online presence.
WhatsApp’s Privacy Concerns
WhatsApp was purchased by Meta – the parent company of Facebook – in 2014. In the subsequent two years, the founders of WhatsApp left the company mainly due to concerns regarding Facebook’s approach to user privacy. This led to a lot of controversies as to how Facebook was handling user data.
WhatsApp collects user information by default in the app. Configuring your WhatsApp privacy settings can help you limit the data collected by the app to only the information you are comfortable providing.
However, it is good to remember that you cannot use WhatsApp without spilling some personal information. There are other WhatsApp alternatives you might want to look at if you want to stay anonymous.
With that said, here are WhatsApp’s privacy settings you can adjust.
How to Change Your WhatsApp Privacy Settings
If you wish to adjust your WhatsApp privacy settings you can take a look at the overview below. We explain where you can find the settings you need. Moreover, you can see what things you can change to heighten your privacy on WhatsApp.
By default, WhatsApp allows any user to see your profile photo, your “about” section, when you were last active on the app, and whether you have read a received message. To access and change these settings:
Changing WhatsApp Privacy Settings on Android
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy.“
Changing WhatsApp Privacy Settings on iPhone
- On WhatsApp, tap “Settings” in the bottom right.
- Tap “Privacy.”
Here you can adjust individual settings to customize who can see what information about you. Let’s go through each setting below.
Limit Who Can See Your Profile Photo
By default, WhatsApp shows your profile photo to “Everyone.” This includes your contacts and anyone who has your phone number. For most people, this is not good for their privacy. Here’s how you can limit who can see your profile photo on WhatsApp.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Tap “Profile Photo.”
- Choose “My Contacts.”
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap “Settings” in the bottom right.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Tap “Profile Photo.”
- Choose “My Contacts.”
You can further limit who can see your profile photo by choosing “My Contacts Except…“, it will bring up your contact list. Here you can choose to exclude a single person or a number of people from seeing your profile photo.
Limit Who Can See Your Status
Sometimes you may want to limit who can see your status updates. WhatsApp allows you to do this. You can either share your status with all your contacts or all your contacts except some people or select who in your contact list you’d like to share your status with.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Tap “Status.”
- Choose “My Contacts.“
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap “Settings” in the bottom right.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Tap “Status.”
- Choose “My Contacts.“
Managing Read Receipts
By default, when you receive a message on WhatsApp, a user can see when you read their message. Here’s how WhatsApp classifies messages you send on the platform:
- Single tick: Sent but not delivered to the recipient.
- Double tick: Delivered but not read (default).
- Blue double tick: Opened and read by recipient.
However, you can turn off read receipts so the sender can’t know whether your read their message or not since your double ticks will not turn blue. Here’s how to switch off read receipts:
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Toggle the switch next to Read Receipts to switch it off.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap on “Settings” at the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Toggle the button next to “Read Receipts” to switch it off.
Sometimes, it can be a good idea not to automatically inform the sender that you have seen their message. This can give you time to think about a response before returning a message.
However, if you turn off read receipts, you also won’t be able to receive read receipts from others. Also, read receipts are always on for group messages.
Activate Disappearing Messages
To increase the level of privacy on WhatsApp, you can set chat messages to disappear after one, seven, or 90 days. Below find instructions on how to set disappearing messages for all chats.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy,” then tap “Disappearing messages.“
- Click “Default Message Timer” and choose between 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
- Apply disappearing messages to individual chats by choosing “Apply timer to chats.” At the top, choose between 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
- Select contact(s) you’d like to activate disappearing messages from the contact list.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap on Settings at the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Click “Default Message Timer” and choose between 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
WhatsApp will inform others that you’ve set messages to disappear after the duration you’ve picked. However, it’s worth noting that disappearing messages are not 100% foolproof, as someone may still be able to take a screenshot or otherwise save a copy of the message before it disappears.
Activate Disappearing Messages in Group Chats
Disappearing messages are not restricted to one-on-one chats only. You can set messages to disappear after a certain duration in group chats too. Here’s how:
On Android:
- On WhatsApp chats, tap on the name of the group.
- Scroll down and tap on “Disappearing messages.“
- Choose between 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp chats, tap on the name of the group.
- Scroll down and tap on “Disappearing messages.“
- Choose between 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
Restrict Group Invites
Being added to random group chats that you’re not interested in can be annoying. Luckily, WhatsApp allows you to choose who can invite you to group chats and force those who can’t send you an invite instead.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy“, then tap “Groups.“
- Choose between “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except...” to exempt specific contacts.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap on Settings at the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Privacy,” then tap “Groups.“
- You can choose between “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except…” to exempt specific contacts.
Selecting “My Contacts Except…” will let you choose individuals who can’t invite you to groups.
Understanding Last Seen
The “Last Seen” feature shows others when you were last active on WhatsApp. It can be useful to know if the person you are messaging checked in recently or hasn’t been active in a few days.
However, this allows someone to track you and find out if you’re ignoring them, for example. If you choose to hide your “Last Seen”, you won’t be able to see other users’ “Last Seen” either. Here’s how to hide your “Last Seen:”
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy,” then tap “Last Seen & Online.”
- Tap Nobody so no one can see when you were last on WhatsApp.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap “Settings” at the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Privacy“, then tap “Last Seen & Online.”
- Tap Nobody so no one can see when you were last on WhatsApp.
Alternatively, you can limit this information only to a couple of people in your contact list. For many, this is a reasonable compromise between usefulness and over-sharing. To do this, choose “My contacts except…“
For more privacy, if you would like to hide when you’re online – under “Who can see when I’m online“, tap on “Same as Last Seen.”
Send View Once Media
WhatsApp allows you to send a photo or video that can be viewed only once. View once media can’t be forwarded, shared, copied or saved in the recipient’s photo gallery.
The recipient also can’t take a screenshot of it. Below, find step-by-step instructions on how to send view once media on Android and iPhone.
On Android:
- On chat, tap the safety pin icon to attach the photo or video you want to send.
- In the text box, select the timer icon.
- The icon will turn green.
- Hit send.
On iPhone:
- Attach the photo or video you want to send.
- In the text box, select the timer icon.
- The icon will turn blue with one inside.
- Hit Send.
Encrypt Your Chat Backups
Backing up your chats can come in handy when you change phones and you need to restore your old chats. However, to keep your data private while backing up on iCloud or Google Drive, it’s wise to make sure the backups are end-to-end encrypted.
This way, not even Google or Apple can access your data.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Chats,” then “Chat backup.”
- Tap “End-to-end encrypted backup.”
- Tap “Turn on” on the next page. You’ll then be prompted to create a password or encrypted key for your backup.
- Follow the prompts to create your backup password or generate a backup encryption key.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Chats,” then “Chat Backup.”
- At the bottom, tap “End-to-end Encrypted Backup.”
- Tap “Turn on.” You’ll be prompted to create a password or encrypted key for your backup.
- Follow the prompts to create your backup password or generate a backup encryption key.
NOTE: if you lose your password or encryption key, you won’t be able to restore your backup. To store it safely, use a secure password manager like 1Password.
Turn Off Chat Backups
You can prevent WhatsApp from backing up your chats on cloud servers owned by big tech companies like Google or Apple. However, this means you won’t be able to restore your chats when you replace your smartphone.
If you still wish to proceed despite the option of turning on end-to-end encryption for backups, here’s how to turn off automatic backups.
On Android:
- Tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Chats,” then tap “Chat Backups.“
- Tap “Back up to Google Drive.” Tap “Never.“
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap “Settings” in the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Chats“, then tap “Chat Backup.“
- Tap “Auto Backup“, then tap “Off.“
Turn off backups in iPhone’s system settings:
You need to make sure iCloud doesn’t back up your WhatsApp chats despite turning it off in WhatsApp’s settings. Here’s how:
- Go to “Settings” on your iPhone.
- Tap on your “Apple ID” at the top.
- Tap “iCloud.“
- Under “Apps using iCloud,” tap “Show All.“
- Locate WhatsApp at the bottom, then toggle the switch to off.
Turn Off Photo and Video Backups
Photos and videos you receive and download on WhatsApp are saved in your phone’s photo gallery then backed up to your Google Drive or iCloud if permitted. If you don’t like this, you can prevent WhatsApp from saving media to your phone’s camera roll.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Chats,” then toggle the switch next to “Media Visibility” to switch it off.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Chats,” toggle the switch next to “Save to Camera Roll” to switch it off.
Hide Your About
When you click someone’s name, the information that’s underneath it is what’s referred to as the About section. It could be a quote, emoji, or one of WhatsApp’s default messages such as “At the gym” or “At Work.”
WhatsApp lets you share your About with all contacts in your phone’s address book or exempt some contacts from seeing it. Here’s how:
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Privacy,” then tap “About.”
- Choose either “My Contacts” or “My Contacts except…“
On iPhone:
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Privacy“, then tap “About.”
- Choose either “My Contacts” or “My Contacts except…“
Managing Live Location
WhatsApp allows you to share your current location with others in a one-on-one chat or group chat. Live location allows the other person to monitor your movements in real-time. Here’s how to do it.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap on the “Attach” button.
- Click “Location.“
- Tap “Share Live Location.” You need to give permission for this in Settings.
- Choose to share your real-time location for either 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours.
On iPhone:
- Tap the “+” button on the bottom right.
- Tap “Location.”
- Tap on “Share Live Location.”
- Choose to share your real-time location for either 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours.
However, you first need to grant permissions in Settings to share your live location if you haven’t done so already.
On Android, go to Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Permissions > Location > Select “Allow only while using the app.”
On iPhone, go to Settings > WhatsApp > Location > Choose “Ask Next Time Or When I Share.”
Sharing your location allows the other person/people to track your physical location in real-time. According to WhatsApp, Live Location data is end-to-end encrypted. Meaning, only the person/people you share this data with can see it. However, if you’re uncomfortable having the Share Live Location feature on, then you should disable the feature.
Block someone on WhatsApp
If a contact or stranger becomes annoying, you have the option to block them on WhatsApp. Once blocked, the person can’t send you messages, call you, or see your status or profile photo. Here’s how you can block an individual.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, open the chat with the person you’d like to block.
- Tap their name at the top, then scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap “Block.”
- You’ll get a warning that blocked contacts will not be able to call you or send you messages.
- Tap “Block” to confirm.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, open the chat with the person you’d like to block.
- Tap their name at the top, then scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap “Block.”
- You’ll get a warning that blocked contacts will not be able to call you or send you messages. Tap “Block” to confirm.
Use Two-Step Verification
You can bump up WhatsApp’s security by enabling two-step verification. Unlike most multifactor authentication systems, WhatsApp’s two-step verification requires you to enter a password to access your account instead of sending a verification message.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Account,” then tap “Two-Step verification.”
- Tap “Turn on“, then create a 6-digit pin.
- Confirm the pin.
- Add your email so you can reset your pin if you forget it.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, Tap “Settings” at the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Account.“, then click “Two-Step Verification.”
- Tap “Turn on“, then create a 6-digit pin.
- Confirm the pin.
- Add your email so you can reset your pin if you forget it.
It’s crucial to enter your email in case you need to reset your password. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait seven days to reset the pin. It’s good to note, re-installing WhatsApp won’t disable the pin.
Request your Account Information from WhatsApp
As mentioned earlier, WhatsApp collects considerable data about you. They claim this data is used to handle complaints or investigate people breaking their terms and conditions. When you request your account report, you’ll get a downloadable zip file that contains your data such as:
- Your phone number.
- Name attached to the account.
- Profile photo you currently have for WhatsApp.
- Device details like type, build number, and manufacturer.
- Amount of time you spend on WhatsApp.
- All your WhatsApp contacts.
- Names of groups you’re a part of.
- Your IP address.
In your account report, you’ll also find phone numbers of all your blocked contacts and privacy settings for Profile Photo, About, Last Seen, Read Receipts, and Status.
It’s good to note that your report won’t contain data such as your chats or call logs since they are end-to-end encrypted hence WhatsApp doesn’t have access to them.
It takes three days for WhatsApp to release your report. This prevents a thief from getting your information in the case your phone is stolen, for example. Here’s how to request a copy of your WhatsApp information.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
- Tap “Account,” then tap “Request Account Info.“
- Tap “Request Report.“
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, Tap “Settings” in the bottom right corner.
- Tap “Account,” tap “Request Account Info.“
- Tap “Request report.“
Recently, WhatsApp announced it will share your personal data with its parent company Meta (formerly Facebook). In fact, WIRED reports that WhatsApp has been sharing this information with its subsidiaries since 2016 and continues to do so.
They share this data to improve ads and product experience. With data such as your IP address, Meta can track you online.
Have you ever searched for a product online just to find a similar ad when you logged in to Facebook or Instagram? To prevent this, we advise using a VPN. A VPN will anonymize your connection by masking your IP address thus preventing Facebook and other companies from tracking you online.
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
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Report a Contact to WhatsApp
You can help WhatsApp identify abuse such as harassment, spam, threats, malicious content, and more on the platform. This applies for both individual and group chats.
If someone keeps sending you any of these, it’s a good idea to report them. Here’s how to report individual or group chats.
On Android:
- On WhatsApp, open the chat with the contact/group you would like to report.
- Tap on their name at the top.
- Scroll down and tap “Report,” you can also tap on “Report & Block.” With the latter option, you will no longer receive messages or calls from the contact.
On iPhone:
- On WhatsApp, open the chat with the contact/group you would like to report.
- Tap on their name at the top.
- Scroll down and tap “Report,” you can also tap on “Report & Block.” With the latter option, you will no longer receive messages or calls from the contact.
Conclusion: WhatsApp Privacy Settings
Despite messages and calls being end-to-end encrypted on WhatsApp, the company still collects a lot of metadata from users compared to other instant messaging apps such as Signal.
WhatsApp – which is owned by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – received backlash from users after it announced that it would share this user data with its subsidiaries, such as Facebook and Instagram.
However, most users find it difficult to leave WhatsApp since most of their contacts still use the platform. In that case, users should tighten their privacy on WhatsApp by adjusting the privacy settings discussed in this article and use the industry-leading NordVPN to anonymize their connection and avoid being tracked online.
To learn more about how WhatsApp compares to other instant messaging apps from a privacy perspective, check out the following articles:
Do you have a question about WhatsApp privacy settings? Check out the FAQ section below for quick answers to your questions. Click on a question to see the answer.
To stop people from seeing when you were last online on WhatsApp, you can turn off the “last seen” feature. Here’s how:
- On WhatsApp, tap on the three dots in the top right corner to open the menu.
- Tap on “Settings.”
- Tap on “Account.”
- Tap on “Privacy.”
- Tap Nobody so no one can see when you were last on WhatsApp.
Now, others will not be able to see when you were last online on WhatsApp. Note that when you turn off “last seen” you will also not be able to see other people’s last-seen status.
You can always optimize your WhatsApp privacy settings learn more settings you can adjust to increase your privacy on the platform.
You can take several steps to make your WhatsApp account more private and secure:
- Turn off “last seen” status: As I mentioned in my previous answer, you can turn off the “last seen” feature in WhatsApp’s privacy settings to prevent others from seeing when you were last online.
- Set up two-step verification: You can add an extra layer of security to your account by enabling two-step verification in the account settings. You’ll set up a password that you’ll be required to enter to access your WhatsApp account.
- Adjust read receipt settings: You can choose to turn off read receipts, which prevent others from seeing when you have read their messages.
WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption for all of its messages and calls by default, which means that only the sender and recipient can read the messages.
This provides a high level of privacy and security for users. However, WhatsApp is owned by Meta (previously Facebook), and the company collects and uses data from the app for various purposes, including advertising and improving the app’s features.
This means that while your conversations on WhatsApp may be encrypted, other data associated with your account, such as your phone number, profile information, and usage patterns, may be accessible to Meta.
