Privacy settings are important especially for messaging apps like WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has a lot of privacy features—end-to-end encryption, stored messages, and more.
You’re also given the ability to control your privacy via your settings.
For instance, if you don’t want others to know when you were last online on WhatsApp, you can freeze/hide your “Last Seen” status.
Things can get awkward if someone knows when you were last online on WhatsApp.
In the event that someone sent you a message while you’re online on WhatsApp, they would expect an immediate reply.
However, you might not be able to think of a reply right off the bat.
If you don’t reply, they might think that you’re intentionally ignoring them—which is not necessarily the case.
To avoid all that tension, you can freeze your “Last Seen” status on WhatsApp using the 4-step guide below.
- How to Freeze “Last Seen” on WhatsApp
- How do I freeze my last seen on WhatsApp on iPhone?
- Can you freeze your timestamp on WhatsApp?
- Is it possible to show the wrong last seen on WhatsApp?
How to Freeze “Last Seen” on WhatsApp
To freeze your “Last Seen” on WhatsApp, you need to navigate to your privacy settings.
Once you’re on your privacy settings, you can freeze your “Last Seen” by changing it to “Nobody”.
Freezing your “Last Seen” will prevent others from knowing when you were last online on WhatsApp.
However, you won’t be able to see when they were last online as well.
So, before you decide to freeze your “Last Seen”, keep in mind that you won’t be able to see other people’s “Last Seen”.
That being said, there is a trick that you can use to see when someone was last online on WhatsApp while your “Last Seen” is hidden.
In a nutshell, the trick is to switch your “Last Seen” privacy setting to “Everyone” to see someone’s online status and quickly switch it back to “Nobody” again.
That way, you’ll be able to see when someone was last online on WhatsApp if they didn’t hide it.
Anyhow, below is a step-by-step guide on how you can freeze your “Last Seen” on WhatsApp.
Step #1: Go to WhatsApp Settings
Open WhatsApp > Settings > Account.
Firstly, open WhatsApp on your mobile device.
Then, tap on the Settings icon on the bottom navigation bar to go to your Settings.
Do note that you won’t be able to do this on WhatsApp web as the privacy setting is not available there.
Once you’re on the Settings page, you’ll see multiple tabs.
You can edit your profile, check your starred messages, scan the QR code for WhatsApp Web/Desktop, and more.
Below the “WhatsApp Web/Desktop” tab, you’ll see a tab that says “Account”.
Tap on “Account” to go to your account settings.
The account settings page allows you to edit your account’s privacy and security settings.
You’ve successfully navigated to your account settings.
In the next step, you’ll have to navigate to your privacy settings.
Step #2: Tap on “Privacy”
Account > Privacy.
Once you’ve tapped on the “Account” tab (from the previous step), you’ll land on your account settings.
On the account settings, you can set your privacy and security settings.
You can also request your account info or delete your account.
Tap on “Privacy” (the first tab) to go to your privacy settings.
The privacy settings are where the “Last Seen” setting is located.
You’ll be using it to hide your online status on WhatsApp.
You’ve successfully navigated to your privacy settings.
In the next step, you’ll learn how to navigate to the “Last Seen” setting to freeze it.
Step #3: Tap on “Last Seen”
Privacy > Last Seen.
Once you’ve tapped on the “Privacy” tab (from the previous step), you’ll land on your privacy settings.
WhatsApp has a lot of privacy features that you can customize.
You can add a two-step verification, lock your WhatsApp (using Touch ID, Face ID, or Android Fingerprint lock), choose who can see when you last opened WhatsApp, and more.
On the privacy settings page, you can choose who can see your “Last Seen”, “Profile Photo”, “About”, “Groups”, and “Status”.
The option that you want to be customizing is your “Last Seen” as you want to hide it.
Tap on the “Last Seen” tab to proceed to your “Last Seen” privacy settings.
In the last step, you’ll learn how to hide your “Last Seen” from others in a single tap.
Step #4: Change last seen to “Nobody”
Last Seen > Nobody.
Now that you’re on your “Last Seen” privacy settings, you can choose who can view it.
There are three options where you can choose from—”Everyone”, “My Contacts”, and “Nobody”.
Firstly, “Everyone” means that everyone including your contacts and those that are not in your contacts will be able to see your “Last Seen”.
“My Contacts” means that only your contacts can see your “Last Seen”.
Thirdly, “Nobody” hides your “Last Seen” from everyone, which means that nobody will be able to see it.
Tap on “Nobody” to freeze your “Last Seen” on WhatsApp.
After you’ve tapped on “Nobody”, your “Last Seen” will be frozen.
In other words, other people will not be able to know when you last opened WhatsApp.
Similarly, as long as your “Last Seen” is set to “Nobody”, you won’t be able to know when other people last opened their WhatsApp as well.
If you want to see when someone was last online on WhatsApp, your “Last Seen” needs to be set to “Everyone” or “My Contacts”.
How do I freeze my last seen on WhatsApp on iPhone?
Freezing your last seen on WhatsApp on iPhone is similar to how you can do it on an Android device.
To freeze your last seen on WhatsApp on iPhone, open WhatsApp > Settings > Privacy > Last Seen > Nobody.
After you’ve set your last seen to “Nobody”, it’ll be frozen to others.
In other words, nobody will be able to see when you were last online on WhatsApp.
Can you freeze your timestamp on WhatsApp?
Yes, you can freeze your timestamp on WhatsApp.
You can freeze your timestamp by opening WhatsApp and navigating to Settings > Privacy > Last Seen > Nobody.
After you’ve set your last seen to “Nobody”, your timestamp will be frozen to others.
Alternatively, you can set your last seen to “My Contacts” which only allows people in your contacts to see your timestamp.
Is it possible to show the wrong last seen on WhatsApp?
Yes, WhatsApp “Last Seen” can be wrong.
At times, the “Last Seen” is inaccurate because WhatsApp might be still running on your background even though you’ve exited it.
To prevent this from happening, you need to force close WhatsApp after exiting it.
Force closing WhatsApp will ensure that your “Last Seen” is always accurate.
Conclusion
Hiding your “Last Seen” on WhatsApp is important as you might not want others knowing when you were last online.
If you’re a slow texter, it makes even more sense to hide your online status to prevent others from thinking that you’re deliberately ignoring them.
In reality, some slow texters are not deliberately ignoring a text.
Some people are either too busy, they forgot about the message, or they just need more time to think of a reply.
Either way, “freezing” your “Last Seen” on WhatsApp is the best way out.
Further Reading
How to Set YouTube Video As WhatsApp Status
How to Make a Poll on Discord: A Step-by-Step Guide
Is WhatsApp Considered Social Media?
Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
