WhatsApp and Telegram offer privacy tools to hide connection status

Major messaging platforms WhatsApp and Telegram offer features that allow users to hide their connection status and activity to enhance digital privacy.

On WhatsApp, users can manage visibility for their profile photo, status, and last seen information through privacy settings. This allows individuals to control who can see their activity without needing to block specific contacts. Users can also disable read receipts, commonly known as blue ticks, to prevent others from knowing when a message has been read.

Telegram provides similar functionality, enabling users to hide their last seen and online status. This feature is intended to reduce social pressure regarding response times and improve security by preventing third parties from tracking connection patterns. While hiding one's own status prevents seeing the status of others, Telegram Premium users can see others' activity even if their own is hidden. Both platforms allow for exceptions, where specific contacts can be granted permission to see the user's connection details.