whatsapp comes out new security features which gives you more granular control over who can and cannot see certain account information.
The settings affected on your WhatsApp account (opens in new tab) are the profile picture, the description about and the last seen status. You can now decide which of your contacts can see those three details. Control over Last Seen in particular is a functionality in the making since November 2021† That level of control is extended to the other two settings.
Hidden details
Prior to this security update, you could show the public that specific account information, restrict access to contacts only, or prevent everyone from knowing. And you don’t have to worry about the rest of your contacts because anyone who isn’t restricted will be able to see that information just fine.
With the new update, keep in mind that if you limit your Last Seen status to a specific person, you won’t be able to see their status either. This update comes on both Android and iOS. You can check if you have the update by going to Settings on WhatsApp, selecting Account and then Privacy.
For example, if you click on Profile Picture, you’ll see a new entry that says “My Contacts Except…”. That’s the new update where you can select who can see your data. If you don’t have it, it is recommended to update WhatsApp. We were unable to get confirmation from WhatsApp whether this feature will be released globally.
Built-in Features
In addition to the security updates, WhatsApp also sneaked in three new group calling features. You can now mute or message specific people in a conversation. There will also be a new indicator that appears from the bottom of the screen when someone joins a large-scale conversation. This information came from the Will Cathcart’s Twitter account (opens in new tab) who is the head of whatsapp.
As for upcoming features, WhatsApp news site WABetaInfo has spotted a new beta for Android phones (opens in new tab) which is referred to as Android 2.22.14.6. The beta has a new management feature called “Group Membership Approval”.
According to WABetaInfo, this feature allows group creators to control who can access a chat. Group chat members can invite others to the room, but those additional people must be approved by the creator. Group membership approval can reportedly be enabled by going to the group chat setting. WABetaInfo too new gender neutral emojis discovered (opens in new tab) in the beta.
If you’re interested in trying the beta, you can join the Google Play beta program (opens in new tab) now and download 2.22.14.6 on your device. Earlier this week, TechRadar covered another WhatsApp feature that makes it easy to transfer data from Android to iOS.
