WhatsApp status is a feature that allows users to share photos, videos, and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. By default, your status updates are visible to all of your WhatsApp contacts. However, there are ways to control who can see your status updates on WhatsApp.
One common question is whether you can upload a status and prevent a specific contact from seeing it, while still allowing your other contacts to view the status as normal. The answer is yes, it is possible to exclude individual contacts from viewing your WhatsApp status, even if you have previously added them to your contacts list.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to upload a WhatsApp status but block it from being visible to certain contacts. We’ll also discuss how this works technically behind the scenes. Let’s dive in!
Steps to Block a Contact from Seeing Your Status
Here are the steps to block a specific WhatsApp contact from seeing your status update:
1. Upload Your Status as Usual
First, upload your status update like you normally would in WhatsApp. You can upload a photo, video clip, GIF, or text status. The process to upload a status is the same as usual.
2. Go to Privacy Settings
Once your status is uploaded, open WhatsApp Settings and go to the “Privacy” section. On iOS, go to Settings > Account > Privacy. On Android, go to More Options > Settings > Account > Privacy.
3. Select “Status Privacy”
Under Privacy settings, select the option for “Status Privacy.” This will allow you to configure who can see your status updates.
4. Choose “My Contacts Except…”
You’ll now see a menu to choose who can view your status. Select the option for “My Contacts Except…”
5. Select the Contacts to Exclude
A list of all your WhatsApp contacts will appear. Tap on the contacts you want to exclude from viewing your status. The selected contacts will be unchecked from the list.
6. Save Changes
Once you’ve selected the contacts to exclude, tap on “Done” or “Save” to save the changes. Your status privacy settings are now updated.
How WhatsApp Status Privacy Works
Now let’s discuss how WhatsApp handles status privacy behind the scenes when you block specific contacts.
Encryption Keys Are Changed
WhatsApp’s statuses are end-to-end encrypted. When you upload a status, WhatsApp generates an encryption key to encrypt the status media. This encryption key is then shared with all of your contacts so they can decrypt and view your status.
When you block a contact from viewing your status, WhatsApp generates a new encryption key for that status. It shares the new key with your contacts except for the ones you blocked. Since the blocked contacts don’t have the correct encryption key, they can’t decrypt and view your status update.
Blocked Contacts Won’t Get Notified
In addition to encryption, WhatsApp also won’t send notifications about your status update to the contacts you blocked from seeing it. So they won’t get notified that you shared a new status at all.
Status Row Won’t Show for Blocked Contacts
In your contact list, WhatsApp shows a row of status icons for each contact when they share a status update. For the contacts you have blocked, WhatsApp will omit the status row entirely. So they won’t see any indicator that you’ve uploaded a new status.
Technical Implementation
WhatsApp likely maintains a per-status access control list that specifies which contacts can view each status update. When you block contacts, WhatsApp updates this access list to exclude them. It also generates a new encryption key that is selectively shared with the allowed contacts only.
Important Points About Status Privacy
Here are some other important notes about controlling status privacy on WhatsApp:
- Blocking contacts only applies to your current status. Any previous statuses they could view will still be visible to them.
- You have to manually block contacts again for each new status you upload if you want them excluded.
- Blocked contacts may still see your status if another allowed contact takes a screenshot or records the status and shares it with them.
- If you delete a contact, they will automatically be unable to view your future statuses. But they can still see any previous statuses.
So in summary, while WhatsApp does allow blocking specific contacts from viewing your status, there are some limitations to be aware of. The blocking has to be applied manually each time, and does not restrict contacts from seeing your status if shared by another viewer.
Troubleshooting Tips
Here are some troubleshooting tips if you’ve blocked a contact but they are still able to view your status:
- Make sure you selected the correct contact to block. Double check your status privacy settings.
- Force close and restart the WhatsApp app on your phone and the contact’s phone. This will clear out any cached status data.
- Toggle your status privacy setting from “My Contacts Except” to “My Contacts”, then back again. This resets the status privacy.
- Make sure the contact doesn’t have another phone number of yours in their contacts. WhatsApp matches by phone number.
- If issues persist, try uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp to fully clear app data and cache.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some commonly asked questions about selectively blocking WhatsApp contacts from viewing your status:
Does the blocked contact know I’ve prevented them from seeing my status?
No, WhatsApp does not directly notify or indicate to a contact that you have blocked them from your status privacy settings. They simply won’t have access to view or get notified of your new statuses.
Can I block a contact who is not in my phone’s contacts?
No, you can only block contacts who are already saved in your phone’s contacts list. To block someone who is just a WhatsApp contact, you will first need to add them to your phone contacts.
What happens if I delete a contact from my phone?
If you delete a contact from your phone’s contacts list, they will automatically be unable to view your future WhatsApp statuses. But they still retain access to any previous statuses.
Can I quickly toggle someone between allowed and blocked?
Unfortunately there is no simple way to quickly toggle a contact’s status viewing permissions on/off. You have to go into the status privacy settings each time and check/uncheck them from the list.
If I block someone, can they tell I’ve updated my status?
No, a blocked contact will have no indication whatsoever that you have posted a status update. They won’t see the status row in your chat, get notifications, or have any other signal. It will appear to them as if you have not updated your status.
Will my status privacy settings sync across my devices?
Yes, your status privacy settings including blocked contacts will automatically sync across any linked devices where you use WhatsApp. You only have to configure it once.
Conclusion
To summarize, WhatsApp does provide the ability to prevent specific contacts from viewing your status updates, while still allowing other contacts to see them. This is done by updating status privacy settings and selecting “My Contacts Except…”.
The blocked contacts will no longer have access to current or future status updates. However, previous statuses they could view will still be visible. And they could potentially see your status if shared by another contact.
Configuring status privacy properly takes some manual effort, and has limitations. But it can be a useful tool if you need to restrict just certain contacts from your status while allowing your other active WhatsApp connections to stay updated. With the step-by-step guide above, you should now have a better understanding of how to block a contact from seeing your WhatsApp status.
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Upload status as usual |
| 2 | Go to Privacy Settings |
| 3 | Select “Status Privacy” |
| 4 | Choose “My Contacts Except…” |
| 5 | Select contacts to exclude |
| 6 | Save changes |
What happens behind the scenes when you block a contact:
- New encryption key generated for status
- Key only shared with allowed contacts
- Blocked contacts don’t get notifications
- No status row shown for blocked contacts
Important Points:
- Blocking only applies to current status
- Must re-block for each new status
- Can’t prevent blocked contacts seeing via screenshot
- Deleting contact blocks them fully
Troubleshooting Tips:
- Double check selected contact is correct
- Force close and restart WhatsApp
- Toggle status privacy on/off
- Ensure correct phone number is blocked
- Try reinstalling WhatsApp
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Q: Does blocked contact know they are blocked? A: No, WhatsApp does not indicate this directly.
- Q: Can I block non-contacts? A: No, only existing contacts can be blocked.
- Q: What if I delete a contact? A: They are fully blocked from future statuses.
- Q: Is there a quick toggle for contact blocking? A: No, you must go into settings each time.
- Q: Can a blocked contact tell I’ve updated status? A: No, they have no indication whatsoever.
- Q: Do settings sync across devices? A: Yes, blocked contacts sync automatically.