WhatsApp is a hugely useful messaging tool that can make it really easy to keep in contact with friends, family and colleagues.

However, it has a couple of features that you might feel give people too much information about what you're up to and when you're using the app.

In chats you'll often see a "Last seen" time or date for your friends, letting you know when they last accessed WhatsApp to give you an indication of whether they're checking their messages.

If you don't want this to apply to you, follow these simple steps to turn it off.

How to hide online status on WhatsApp

Doing this is simple on all devices.

  1. In WhatsApp, go to the settings menu
  2. Click on Accounts
  3. Head to the Privacy section
  4. Click on Last Seen
  5. Choose "Nobody" on the list of options

That's the whole process, and your Last Seen status will now be completely hidden. Much like read receipts, the trade-off here is that you therefore won't be able to see other people's Last Seen status, but that is likely to be a bargain you're happy to strike.