If you exclude someone from viewing your WhatsApp status updates, you will not be able to see their status updates either. Excluding someone works both ways – if you don’t want them seeing your status updates, you won’t be able to see theirs.
How to Exclude Someone from Viewing Your WhatsApp Status
Here are the steps to exclude someone from viewing your WhatsApp status updates:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on the Settings icon in the bottom right (the 3 dots or 3 lines icon)
- Go to Account > Privacy > Status > My Contacts Except…
- Select the contacts you want to exclude from viewing your status by tapping on them
- Tap Done when finished selecting contacts
Once you exclude contacts, they will no longer be able to view any of your current or future status updates. And you in turn won’t be able to see any of their status updates.
How Excluding Someone from Status Works
When you exclude someone from viewing your WhatsApp status, here is what happens:
- The contact you excluded will no longer see your status updates in their Statuses tab
- They won’t get notified when you post a status update
- Your profile picture will appear with a plain background instead of a status icon/thumbnail in their contacts and chat lists
- If they visit your chat, there won’t be a “view status update” link for them to tap
- You also won’t be able to view that contact’s status updates anymore
- Your name will appear with a plain background instead of status icon/thumbnail in their contacts and chat lists
- If you visit their chat, there won’t be a “view status update” link for you either
So in summary, excluding each other from status updates is a two-way street – if you don’t want them seeing your status, you can’t see theirs either.
Why Would You Want to Exclude Contacts from Status
Here are some common reasons you may want to exclude someone from viewing your WhatsApp status updates:
- Privacy – you don’t want certain contacts seeing personal updates
- Avoid awkwardness – you don’t want some contacts getting the wrong idea from your status updates
- Limit access – you only want to share status updates with your closest contacts
- Focus – you don’t want work contacts distracted by your personal status updates
- Control reach – you want to exclude contacts who might further share/spread your status updates
The privacy control allows you to choose exactly who gets access to your status updates on WhatsApp. Use it to limit status access as needed.
What Happens When You Unexclude a Contact
If you change your mind later and want to unexclude a contact from seeing your status updates, here’s what happens:
- Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Status > My Contacts Except… and remove the contacts you want to unexclude
- Once unexcluded, they will be able to view your current status as well as new status updates
- You will also be able to view their status updates again
- The contact will get notified again when you post new status updates
- Your profile picture will show your status icon/thumbnail instead of plain background in their chat lists
- Their profile picture will show their status icon/thumbnail instead of plain background in your contacts and chat lists
So unexcluding a contact essentially reverts back to the default where you can view each other’s status updates.
Does Excluding Notify the Contact
When you exclude someone from viewing your WhatsApp status, they do not get notified or informed about it.
- They will not get a message saying you excluded them
- There is no indication in their chats that they are excluded
- The change happens silently in the background
- One moment they can view your status, the next moment they can’t
So excluding a contact happens secretly without them knowing. This prevents any awkwardness or confrontations about it.
Can Excluded Contacts See New Status Updates
No, contacts who are excluded from your WhatsApp status will not be able to see any new status updates you post.
- They won’t get notified about new status updates
- Your new status won’t show up in their Statuses tab
- There won’t be a “view status update” link if they visit your chat
- They are completely blocked from seeing anything you post after excluding them
Excluding contacts blocks access to both current and any future status updates you share. They will only be able to see your status if you unexclude them again.
Does Excluding Unfollow their Status
When you exclude someone from viewing your status, you automatically unfollow their status as well. So you will no longer be able to view their status updates.
- Their status updates won’t show up in your Statuses tab
- You won’t get notifications when they post new statuses
- There won’t be a “view status update” link when visiting their chat
- You won’t see their status at all until you unexclude them
This makes excluding contacts a two-way street – if they can’t see your status, you can’t see theirs either. You have to unexclude each other to view status updates again.
Can I Exclude Contacts Temporarily
There is no temporary option to exclude contacts from your WhatsApp status.
- You can only permanently exclude contacts from seeing your status
- The only way to temporarily prevent them from seeing status is to not post any updates during that time
- If you want to exclude someone for a short time, you will have to unexclude them manually later
So if you need to exclude someone for a brief period, you will have to put in the effort to unexclude them again when ready. There is no temporary exclusion feature at this time.
Troubleshooting Tips
Here are some troubleshooting tips for handling any issues with excluding contacts from your WhatsApp status:
- If an excluded contact can still see your status – Double check that you properly excluded them in your privacy settings, and try excluding them again
- If their old status still shows up – Refresh by closing and reopening WhatsApp to load latest privacy settings
- If nothing changes after excluding – Force close WhatsApp and clear cache to force a refresh
- If status glitches after unexcluding – Try restarting your phone and toggling airplane mode to force reconnect
- If issues persist – Back up chats and reinstall WhatsApp to wipe cache and load a fresh copy
Following these tips should help resolve any lingering issues with excluding contacts from your status updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my status from specific contacts?
Yes, you can hide or exclude your WhatsApp status from specific contacts by customizing the privacy settings.
Will excluded contacts know I hid my status from them?
No, contacts are not notified or informed when you exclude them from seeing your status updates.
Can I exclude contacts without unfollowing their status?
No, excluding contacts works both ways – if they can’t see your status, you can’t see theirs either.
Can I temporarily exclude someone from my status?
No, there is no temporary exclusion option. You have to manually unexclude contacts when ready.
What happens if I unexclude a contact later on?
They will be able to view your current status and new updates again if you remove them from the excluded contacts list.
Will my status disappear or erase if I exclude contacts?
No, your existing status will stay intact. Only the excluded contacts will no longer be able to view it.
In Conclusion
Excluding contacts from viewing your WhatsApp status updates is an easy way to control privacy. Just remember that it works both ways – contacts you exclude can’t see your status, and you can’t see theirs. Be thoughtful about who you want to exclude and change the settings as needed. With this ability to customize status privacy, you get greater control over who gets access to your WhatsApp status updates.