Owing to WhatsApp’s worldwide popularity, it’s most people’s go-to medium to reach out. However, I prefer to keep my personal and professional hours separate. That’s why I prefer not to broadcast my Last Seen on WhatsApp, as it can create an expectation of immediate response. Thankfully, WhatsApp allows you to manage your Last Seen in the app’s settings. Let me show you how.
Note: If you hide your Last Seen, you won’t be able to see other’s Last Seen status too.
Official Method
- Open WhatsApp on your Android or iPhone.
- Go to Settings:
- Android: Tap the three dots in the top-right corner and select Settings.
- iOS: Tap Settings on the bottom right of the screen.
- Tap Privacy.
- Tap Last Seen and choose one of the following options:
- Everyone: Anyone who has your number can see your Last Seen.
- My Contacts: Only people in your contacts list can see it.
- My Contacts Except…: You can exclude specific contacts.
- Nobody: No one will see your Last Seen.
Tip: Even with Last Seen hidden, your online status may still be visible when you’re actively participating in a chat. So make sure you set, Who can see when I’m online to Same as last seen.
Send and Read Messages Without Updating Last Seen – The Unusual Ways
While the official method is the safest and most reliable way to manage your Last Seen, here are a few workarounds you could try, with the understanding that they may be unreliable or inconvenient.
Use Phone’s Airplane Mode:
I know this sounds odd, but it works when you’re traveling. Enable Airplane Mode before opening WhatsApp. You can read messages without revealing your Last Seen. Similarly, you can reply while in Airplane Mode will queue your message. Disable Airplane Mode to send it, but this will reveal your Last Seen.
Google Assistant Trick:
If you want to send a WhatsApp message without updating your Last Seen, you can take help of Google Assistant on Android. Simply say, “Ok Google, Send a WhatsApp message to [contact name].” Google Assistant will ask for the message content. Speak your message clearly. Confirm sending by saying “Send” or “Yes.” Unfortunately it didn’t work on iPhone with Siri.
