Published · by ChatWatch
Turn off last seen and online status
- 01Open WhatsApp, go to Settings, then Privacy.
- 02Tap Last seen and online.
- 03Under Who can see my last seen, choose Nobody, or My contacts except… to hide it from specific people only.
- 04Under Who can see when I'm online, choose Same as last seen. This is the setting that hides the live online label, not just the stamp.
What hiding does, exactly
With last seen set to Nobody and online set to Same as last seen, WhatsApp stops sending your presence to other accounts. They see no last seen under your name and never see you as online. This is enforced on WhatsApp's servers, not in the other person's app, so it holds no matter what software they use.
With My contacts except…, the people you exclude get exactly that treatment while everyone else still sees you. It is the setting to use when you want to disappear from one person without going dark for everyone.
Can WhatsApp trackers still see you?
No, not once you are hidden from the account they use. Trackers such as ChatWatch work by linking to the tracker's own WhatsApp account and recording what that account is shown. If your settings hide your presence from that account, it is shown nothing, and there is nothing to record. This is true of every tool that works this way, whatever it promises.
The only tools that could see you regardless are ones installed on your own phone, which is spyware, and a different problem: if you suspect that, check the apps installed on your phone and your Linked devices list, not your privacy settings.
What you give up
None of this is a reason not to hide your status; it is just the trade WhatsApp makes you accept.
- You lose sight of everyone else's last seen. WhatsApp's privacy is reciprocal: hide yours, and theirs is hidden from you.
- Blue ticks are a separate setting (Read receipts) and stay on unless you turn them off too, and turning them off also hides other people's from you.
- Your profile photo, About and status updates have their own privacy settings; hiding last seen does not touch them.
- Group chats show who has read a message regardless of read-receipt settings.
Can I appear offline while I am online?
Yes, with the same two settings: last seen to Nobody, online to Same as last seen. You keep using WhatsApp normally and nobody sees you online. There is no need for modified apps like GB WhatsApp or WhatsApp Plus, which promise the same thing, are not made by WhatsApp, and regularly get accounts banned.
If you are the one tracking
The other side of the coin: if a contact you track hides their status from you, their history in ChatWatch simply stops updating. ChatWatch does not try to get around that and no honest tool would. What it does is make the most of what you are allowed to see, by recording every online moment instead of the single stamp WhatsApp shows.
Hiding your status: questions
If I hide my last seen, can people still see me online?
- Only if Who can see when I'm online is set to Everyone. Set it to Same as last seen and the online label is hidden from the same people as your last seen.
Can someone tell that I hid my last seen?
- They see the label disappear, which is the same thing they would see if they were blocked or if they hid their own. WhatsApp does not tell them which.
Does hiding my status stop ChatWatch from tracking me?
- Yes, for any account you have hidden your presence from. ChatWatch records only what the tracker's own WhatsApp account is shown.
Can I hide my status from one person only?
- Yes. Choose My contacts except… under Last seen and online and pick the people to exclude. Your online status follows the same list when it is set to Same as last seen.