WhatsApp Spotted Testing New Custom Privacy Setting for ‘About’ Status

WhatsApp has been spotted testing a new custom privacy setting for Android users to let them hide their ‘About’ status updates from specific contacts. The option to hide the ‘About’ status from specific contacts, which is yet to be available to beta testers, would be available alongside the existing privacy options. The change is likely to be a part of the enhanced privacy settings that were spotted earlier and would also be available for the Last Seen and Profile Photo updates on the instant messaging app.

In a report, WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo shared a screenshot showing the new custom privacy setting on the app to hide ‘About’ status updates from specific contacts. It is titled My contacts except… and appears to be available alongside the existing Everyone, My contacts, and Nobody privacy options.

WhatsApp is spotted working on expanding privacy of your ‘About’ status updates
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

Users selecting the new privacy setting will be able to exclude certain people from their contacts who would no longer be able to see their ‘About’ status updates.

WABetaInfo has found the new setting in the WhatsApp for Android beta 2.21.21.8, though it is not yet available to beta testers and is said to be still under development.

The My contacts except… option is not likely to be limited to the ‘About’ privacy settings and would also be available for Last Seen and Profile Photo updates, as previously suggested by WABetaInfo. A screenshot showing the option for Profile Photo privacy settings on a WhatsApp for Android version also appeared online last week.

Originally, WhatsApp introduced the My contacts except… option for its Status function back in 2017. It was later expanded to group privacy settings in November 2019.

Exact details on when the update will be available to users are yet to be revealed. However, considering WhatsApp’s history of long-testing new features before making them live, the custom privacy setting for ‘About’ status updates is not likely to be available to end users anytime soon.