WhatsApp Testing Full Invisible Mode

Do you want to hide the fact you’re online now from someone particular? WhatsApp will soon let you do it and remain visible for some of your contacts and invisible for others. Following the recently introduced granular privacy controls, now WhatsApp will allow you to adjust your visibility for different contacts.

The new feature is now reportedly being tested. The screenshots published by WABetaInfo show how it will look in the iOS version of WhatsApp. The list includes the four familiar options who can see your online presence. As you might have guessed, they are Everybody, My Contacts, My Contacts Except (the one that makes the most sense), and Nobody. Apparently, this feature will be blacklist-based, where you select who you don’t want to see online at the moment. And, of course, you can edit the list whenever you like.

There is nothing radically new about it. Invisibility (or whitelist-based partial visibility) was introduced in messengers as early as the late 1990s. But for modern messengers that use mobile numbers as your ID, it’s really the feature that should have arrived long ago. Well, we won’t have to wait long: if this feature is already being tested and shows in beta versions, soon it will appear among already familiar Granular Privacy Controls.

So far, though, it hasn’t been announced when this stealth mode will become functional, at least in beta versions, let alone stable releases. So, if someone gets on your nerves by texting you when you don’t want it, you can simply ignore these messages and wait until that day.

Are you already anticipating the day you can hide your online status from strangers and some of those you know? Do you already make use of Granular Privacy Controls, and how does it help you? If you want to tell me about your experience, welcome to the comments!