WhatsApp Privacy Settings 2026: 23 Settings You Should Change

By Pavan Kumar Prajapati | Nexdigit | WhatsApp Privacy Settings | Reading Time: 15 minutes

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps worldwide. Millions of people use it daily to communicate with friends, family, colleagues, and businesses. However, many users never check their privacy settings.

If you want better privacy, learning the right WhatsApp Privacy Settings can help you control who sees your personal information, who contacts you, and how your account is protected.

In this guide, we explain the WhatsApp Privacy Settings 2026 that every user should review. From hiding your online status to protecting your chats with encryption, these settings can help you improve your account security.

Whether you use Android or iPhone, this beginner-friendly guide explains How to Make WhatsApp Private using simple steps.

Quick Answer: Best WhatsApp Privacy Settings

The Best WhatsApp Privacy Settings to enable or review include:

• Hide Last Seen and Online status.
• Restrict profile photo visibility.
• Control About information.
• Manage WhatsApp Status privacy.
• Turn off Read Receipts.
• Restrict group invitations.
• Silence unknown callers.
• Enable Two-Step Verification.
• Create a WhatsApp Passkey.
• Lock WhatsApp with biometrics.
• Enable encrypted chat backups.
• Protect your IP address during calls.
• Review linked devices.
• Enable Advanced Chat Privacy.

These WhatsApp Security Settings help reduce unwanted interactions and improve account protection.

1. Hide Your Last Seen and Online Status

WhatsApp allows people to see when you were last online and whether you are currently using the app.

This can sometimes create unnecessary pressure to reply immediately.

One of the most useful WhatsApp Privacy Settings is the ability to hide your Last Seen and Online status.

How to hide Last Seen and Online

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Tap Privacy.
4. Select Last seen and online.
5. Set Last Seen to Nobody.
6. Set Online to Same as last seen.

You can also hide your activity from selected contacts using My contacts except.

2. Hide Your WhatsApp Profile Photo

Your profile photo may reveal personal information to people you don’t know.

To improve privacy, restrict who can see your WhatsApp profile picture.

Steps to hide your profile photo

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select Profile photo.
4. Choose My contacts or My contacts except.
5. Select Nobody if you want maximum privacy.

This is one of the simplest WhatsApp Privacy Settings 2026 users should consider changing.

3. Hide Your About Information

Your WhatsApp About section can display personal information.

If you don’t want strangers or unwanted contacts to see it, change its visibility.

How to hide WhatsApp About

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select About.
4. Choose My contacts or Nobody.

This helps you control the information visible on your profile.

4. Control Who Can See Your WhatsApp Status

WhatsApp Status lets you share photos, videos, and text updates.

However, not everyone needs to see your personal updates.

How to change WhatsApp Status privacy

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy.
3. Tap Status.
4. Select My contacts except or Only share with.
5. Choose the contacts you want to include or exclude.

These Best WhatsApp Privacy Settings help you share updates only with people you trust.

5. Turn Off Read Receipts

Read Receipts show blue checkmarks when someone reads your message.

If you prefer more privacy, you can disable this feature.

How to turn off Read Receipts

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Find Read receipts.
4. Turn it off.

Disabling Read Receipts also prevents you from seeing read receipts from other users in individual chats. Read receipts still apply in group chats.

6. Stop Unknown People From Adding You to Groups

Random WhatsApp group invitations can expose your phone number to people you don’t know.

WhatsApp lets you restrict who can add you to groups.

How to restrict WhatsApp group invitations

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select Groups.
4. Choose My contacts or My contacts except.

For stricter privacy, select My contacts except and exclude people you don’t want to add you directly.

7. Silence Unknown WhatsApp Callers

Unknown WhatsApp calls can be annoying and sometimes suspicious.

The Silence Unknown Callers feature prevents calls from unknown numbers from ringing on your phone.

How to silence unknown callers

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy.
3. Tap Calls.
4. Enable Silence unknown callers.

Silenced calls may still appear in your Calls list and notifications.

8. Enable Disappearing Messages

Disappearing Messages automatically remove messages after a selected period.

WhatsApp supports message timers such as 24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days.

How to enable disappearing messages

1. Open a WhatsApp chat.
2. Tap the contact or group name.
3. Select Disappearing messages.
4. Choose your preferred message timer.

You can also set a default message timer for new chats under Settings > Privacy.

Important: Disappearing Messages do not guarantee that someone cannot save your messages or take screenshots.

9. Enable Two-Step Verification

Two-Step Verification adds an extra layer of security to your WhatsApp account.

It helps protect your account even if someone obtains your SMS verification code.

How to enable Two-Step Verification

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Account.
3. Select Two-step verification.
4. Enable the feature.
5. Follow the instructions.
6. Add a recovery email if available.

Never share your WhatsApp verification codes with anyone.

10. Create a WhatsApp Passkey

Passkeys allow you to verify your WhatsApp account using your device’s security system.

Depending on your device, this may include fingerprint authentication, face recognition, or device screen lock.

How to set up a WhatsApp Passkey

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Account.
3. Select Passkeys.
4. Tap Create Passkey.
5. Follow your device’s instructions.

Passkeys can make account verification easier while adding protection against phishing.

11. Enable WhatsApp Security Notifications

Security notifications can help you identify changes involving security codes.

How to enable security notifications

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Go to Settings > Account.
3. Tap Security notifications.
4. Enable Show security notifications on this device.

If a security code changes unexpectedly, verify the change with your contact through another trusted method.

12. Check Your Linked Devices

WhatsApp allows you to connect your account to computers and other supported devices.

However, you should regularly check whether you recognize every linked device.

How to check WhatsApp linked devices

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Tap Linked devices.
3. Review the connected devices.
4. Select any unfamiliar device.
5. Tap Log out.

Never leave your WhatsApp account connected to a public or shared computer.

13. Lock WhatsApp With Biometrics

If someone can access your unlocked phone, they may also be able to open WhatsApp.

WhatsApp offers app-lock features on supported devices.

How to enable WhatsApp app lock

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Find App lock or Fingerprint lock.
4. Enable the feature.
5. Select your preferred lock timing.

This adds another layer of protection when someone uses your phone.

14. Lock Your Most Private Chats

WhatsApp Chat Lock lets you protect individual conversations.

Locked chats are placed in a separate protected section and require authentication to access.

How to lock a WhatsApp chat

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Select the conversation.
3. Tap the contact or group name.
4. Select Chat Lock.
5. Enable the lock using your device authentication.

Use Chat Lock for conversations containing sensitive personal information.

15. Enable Advanced Chat Privacy

Advanced Chat Privacy adds extra restrictions to selected conversations.

When enabled, participants cannot export the chat, automatically save its media to their device gallery, or use messages for certain Meta AI features.

How to enable Advanced Chat Privacy

1. Open the conversation.
2. Tap the contact or group name.
3. Select Advanced Chat Privacy.
4. Turn on the feature.

For groups, the setting may be controlled by group administrators.

This feature does not prevent every possible method of capturing conversation content.

16. Protect Your IP Address During WhatsApp Calls

WhatsApp provides an option to protect your IP address during calls.

When enabled, calls are relayed through WhatsApp servers rather than connecting directly to the other person’s device.

How to protect your IP address

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select Advanced.
4. Enable Protect IP address in calls.

Call quality may be reduced when calls are relayed through servers.

17. Disable WhatsApp Link Previews

Link previews display website information when you share a URL.

If you want to reduce certain privacy risks associated with opening previews, you can disable them.

How to disable link previews

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select Advanced.
4. Enable Disable link previews.

This can help reduce unnecessary preview requests when sharing links.

18. Block High Volumes of Messages From Unknown Accounts

WhatsApp includes a feature designed to reduce message floods from unknown accounts.

It can help when your account receives large numbers of unsolicited messages.

How to enable message protection

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select Advanced.
4. Enable Block unknown account messages if available.

This feature does not replace blocking and reporting suspicious contacts.

19. Encrypt Your WhatsApp Chat Backup

WhatsApp messages are protected with end-to-end encryption by default.

However, cloud backups require additional attention.

WhatsApp offers optional end-to-end encrypted backups that protect your saved chat history.

How to encrypt WhatsApp backups

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Chats.
3. Select Chat backup.
4. Tap End-to-end encrypted backup.
5. Enable the feature.
6. Create a passkey, password, or encryption key as supported.

Keep your backup recovery information safe.

If you lose your password or encryption key, you may lose access to your encrypted backup.

20. Review Meta AI Privacy Options

WhatsApp includes Meta AI features in supported regions.

You should understand what information you share directly with AI features.

Meta AI cannot access your personal WhatsApp conversations simply because you use WhatsApp. It can process information you choose to send to it or explicitly use with AI features.

Privacy tips for Meta AI

• Avoid sending passwords or financial information to AI chatbots.
• Do not share sensitive personal information unnecessarily.
• Review AI features before using them in private conversations.
• Enable Advanced Chat Privacy in chats where appropriate.

21. Reserve a WhatsApp Username

WhatsApp is introducing usernames to help people connect without sharing their phone number with new contacts.

Username availability is rolling out gradually.

How to reserve a WhatsApp username

1. Update WhatsApp.
2. Open Settings.
3. Tap Account or your profile area.
4. Select Username or Reserve username.
5. Choose an available username.
6. Follow the instructions to save it.

A username can help keep your phone number private when communicating with people who do not already have it.

Your phone number is still required to register your WhatsApp account.

22. Enable Strict Account Settings if Available

WhatsApp has additional security options for people who may face targeted cyberattacks.

Strict Account Settings can provide stronger protection by limiting certain features and interactions.

If this option is available on your device, review the restrictions carefully before enabling it.

It is particularly relevant to journalists, public figures, activists, and people who face elevated security risks.

23. Run WhatsApp Privacy Checkup

If you don’t want to configure every setting manually, use WhatsApp Privacy Checkup.

It provides a guided process to review important privacy and security options.

How to run Privacy Checkup

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Select Privacy Checkup or Start checkup.
4. Review each privacy category.
5. Apply the settings that match your needs.

Privacy Checkup can help beginners understand the available controls and configure their accounts more easily.

WhatsApp Privacy Settings Checklist

Use this checklist to review your account:

• Hide Last Seen and Online.
• Restrict Profile Photo visibility.
• Restrict About information.
• Review Status privacy.
• Disable Read Receipts if preferred.
• Restrict group invitations.
• Silence unknown callers.
• Enable Two-Step Verification.
• Create a Passkey.
• Enable security notifications.
• Review Linked Devices.
• Lock WhatsApp.
• Lock sensitive chats.
• Enable Advanced Chat Privacy.
• Protect IP address during calls.
• Disable link previews if desired.
• Review unknown-account message protection.
• Encrypt chat backups.
• Review Meta AI privacy.
• Reserve a username when available.
• Review Strict Account Settings if available.
• Run Privacy Checkup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

WhatsApp offers several useful privacy and security settings, but many users never review them.

By hiding your online status, restricting profile visibility, protecting your account with Two-Step Verification, locking sensitive chats, and encrypting your backups, you can significantly improve your WhatsApp privacy.

These WhatsApp Security Settings can help reduce unwanted interactions and protect your account.

Start with the most important settings and review your Privacy Checkup regularly.

Keep WhatsApp updated to access the latest privacy and security features as they become available.

If you want better protection, review your WhatsApp Privacy Settings 2026 today and choose the settings that match your privacy needs.

About the Author

Pavan Kumar Prajapati is the founder of Nexdigit and an experienced IT professional passionate about technology, digital security, and troubleshooting. He creates easy-to-follow technology guides that help readers understand smartphones, apps, software, privacy settings, and online security.

Through Nexdigit, Pavan shares practical tutorials, helpful tips, and technology solutions designed to make digital life safer and easier for everyone.