WhatsApp could soon add the ability to hide your online status from others. Since WhatsApp’s birth, there has never been an ‘off’ for one’s online status – despite users calling for this feature for years. Reports from WABetaInfo claim that WhatsApp is currently working on the feature. It should make its way to iOS, Android, and desktop in the near future.
WhatsApp is also planning to extend the amount of time allotted for deleting messages. As it stands, users are only able to delete messages ‘for everyone’ an hour and eight minutes after it’s been sent. After that, you’re on your own. The update has hit a select few beta testers devices this week, which means the feature will arrive pretty soon. Hopefully.
Sneak: 100
We’ve all wanted to turn the online status off at some point or another. Sometimes you want to avoid any distractions, or even just want to avoid a specific someone. Well, soon you’ll be able to. And the best part is, there’s an option to limit how many people can see your online status.
As you can see in the image above, you have the choice of limiting online visibility to ‘Everyone’ and ‘Same as Last Seen’. This means if you want nobody on your contact list to see when you’re on the app, then the ‘Last Seen’ settings need to be set to ‘Nobody’. Then, you’re able to pick the ‘Same as Last Seen’ and voila – now you’re hidden from the world. Well, hidden from everyone who has your number saved in their phone.
Despite the image here being taken on an iOS device, it doesn’t mean the feature will be exclusive there. The update will roll out for everybody in due course. The bad news is, we don’t exactly know when we could see the update.
“Unfortunately, this feature is under development so we do not know the details about when it will be released to the public.” WABetaInfo said.
Don’t be too down. Just the fact that we know WhatsApp is working on this is enough.
Deleting for everyone
WhatsApp has also been working on updating the time limit to delete messages on the platform. At the moment, users only have a window of one hour and eight minutes before the message is permanent. If you were too slow, then you had to deal with the consequences.
Soon, we’ll have all the time in the world to delete messages. Well, not actually. The real number is two days and twelve hours, but it’ll feel like all the time in the world. If you still need to delete a message 60 hours(!) after sending it and you miss the cutoff, that’s on you. There’s really no excuse anymore.
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Some beta testers have started getting this change – specifically those using the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.15.8. The fact the feature has reached beta is a good sign. The update should make its way to everyone soon. As with the Online Status rollout, the feature will go live for iOS, Android, and desktop users.
There are no exact dates for the feature to hit regular phones. We just know it’s on the way.
And that’s it for now. Two huge updates, both (hopefully) coming in just a couple of weeks.
Source: WABetaInfo