WhatsApp is a popular instant messaging app that supports voice and chat. When you add someone to your contact, you can message them on WhatsApp, and when they save you back, you can view each other’s status updates.
Besides, WhatsApp has an online status that lets you know when your friend is online. If they are not online, it will display the last time the friend was online to help keep a tab on that person.
Are you curious to know if someone is online on WhatsApp? Open your chat with that person, and on the profile tab, check if it displays the online message. If so, they are online. If it displays a last seen, it means that the person is not online. Also, if it doesn’t show the online or last seen status, the person has likely hidden their last seen, and they could be online, but you can’t know unless you message them.
We will discuss the steps for checking if your WhatsApp contact is online. Also, we will understand what the “last seen” status means and how to hide your WhatsApp status from everyone. Stick around, and let’s get started.
Why Check Someone’s Online Status on WhatsApp?
Similar to how Facebook displays an online green dot to indicate that someone is online, WhatsApp also lets people know when you are online. On WhatsApp, you can see when someone is typing or recording a voice message.
When you want to message someone on WhatsApp, it makes sense to check if that person is online, especially if it’s an urgent message. If they are online, you can message them, but if they are not online, you may decide to call them instead.
The WhatsApp online status helps you know when someone is available for chat, and when you see your contact is online, you can decide to engage them, and you are sure they will reply. Some people check the online status on WhatsApp as a way of stalking someone, while others use it to decide whether to message someone.
What’s the bottom line?
Checking WhatsApp online status depends on your motive, and you can know when someone checks your WhatsApp online status.
How To Check WhatsApp Online Status
Checking the WhatsApp online status is a straightforward thing. However, it’s only successful if you’ve not hidden your WhatsApp online status and the person you want to check has not hidden their online status. In that case, let’s see the steps for checking the WhatsApp online status.
- Open your WhatsApp app on your phone.
- Navigate to the chat of the person you want to check their status.
- Once you open the chat window, check on the “Profile” tab at the top.
- You will see the “Online” message if the person is online or the “Last Seen” status of the person.
- You see a “last seen” followed by a date and time, which means they are currently offline, and the date and time displayed are when they were last online on WhatsApp.
If the person has hidden their online status, you won’t see the last seen or online status messages. If that person is currently typing or recording a voice message, it will display typing and recording, respectively.
How To Hide Online Status on WhatsApp
Anyone can check their WhatsApp online status.
However, you can restrict this from your settings and limit who can see your online status. You can let “everyone”, “my contacts” or “nobody”, see your online status.
Use these steps:
- Open your WhatsApp app.
- Click the horizontal ellipsis at the top.
- Click the option for “Settings”.
- Tap the “Privacy” option.
- Click the “Last Seen and Online.”
- Choose who to hide the “Last Seen” from.
If you choose “My Contacts”, anyone you’ve saved in your contact book can see when you are online. Alternatively, you can choose the “Nobody” option to hide it from everyone.
Conclusion
WhatsApp displays the online status to notify people about your WhatsApp activities. That way, someone can know whether to message you currently or know when you were last active on WhatsApp.
This guide has covered what WhatsApp online status is, how to check someone’s online status, and how to hide your WhatsApp online status.
