How to see and turn off last seen
WhatsApp’s last seen feature allows you to see when someone last checked WhatsApp, as well as allow users to see when you last checked. If a contact hasn’t disabled last seen, it will appear under their name at the top of an open chat. To disable last seen:
Got to: Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen > Switch to Nobody.
Hide your profile picture
You might not want everyone to see your profile picture, especially if you’re part of several groups where you don’t know everyone in the group. Or perhaps you just fancy being a little mysterious for the day. Either way, you can choose if everyone, no-one, or only your contacts see your picture.
Got to: Settings > Account > Privacy > Profile Photo.
How to block a WhatsApp contact
There are plenty of reasons why you might want to block a contact so we won’t ask why. We will just let you know that if you block a contact, you won’t be able to send or receive messages, or make or receive calls from them and even if you unblock them, you won’t see any messages sent to you whilst they were blocked.
Got to: Chats > Specific chat > Tap on contact subject at the top > Scroll down to the bottom > Block Contact.
Mark chats as unread
Ever been out and about, read a chat and then completely forgot to reply? We do it all the time. There is a way to mark important chats with dot to remind you to go back to it though.
Got to: Long press chat > Open Menu > Mark as Unread.
Archive your chats
Archive Chat allows you to hide a conversation from your Chats screen. It does not delete the chat – it just allows you to remove it from your main chat screen without losing it, helping you organise your conversations.
You can archive groups or individual chats, and they will disappear until you pull down from the top of the Chats display and tap the Archived Chats tab. You can also archive all chats.
Got to: Chats > Long press on chat > Press the archive folder at top right of the screen
Back up your chats
To make sure you don’t lose any of your chats if you lose your device or you switch devices, make sure you back up your chats to iCloud or Google Drive. Unfortunately if you are switching between iOS and Android and vice versa, there is no simple way to move your chats over so be prepared to lose them. Also, be aware that archived chats are no longer encrypted.
Got to: Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Back Up Now.
