Like you, many others try to hide WhatsApp online while chatting, usually to block people from knowing when they are active. When active and chatting on WhatsApp, by default, your status will show “online” on the status panel.
The official WhatsApp lets you hide your last seen but what it does not allow you to do is hide your online status while chatting. This means that the contacts you’re keeping from knowing when you’re active can tell if you’re online and currently chatting.
So, how do you get around this to enjoy some privacy? This publication covers the various ways none of your contacts will see the “online” status whenever you’re online and chatting with those you want to.
How to hide WhatsApp online while chatting
Having known the limited features WhatsApp provides its users, you can get around and hide your WhatsApp online while chatting in the following ways:
1. Chat from your notification panel
If you want to keep chatting on WhatsApp without someone knowing, you can do so from the notification panel. Normally, when you receive new messages, they are lined up on your notification panel. If you use an Android system, it has to be the newer version so that you can reply selected messages from the notification panel.
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Be careful not to mistakenly click any message open. Otherwise, your status will change to “online”.
You don’t also have to set your last seen to nobody. As long as you closed the WhatsApp app, removed it from the minimization screen, and it’s only open only in the notification, this method will work.
Just slide down the notification panel, expand the message you want to reply to, and tap “reply” to type a message to the person without opening WhatsApp.
The disadvantage of this method is that you can’t start chatting with people if you don’t receive their messages. If you try to open a chat, you will appear online, even if you set your last seen to “nobody”.
Another disadvantage is that any message you received will have double ticks, which means the message has been delivered and you’ve probably been online but not opened the message yet. The point is to avoid opening WhatsApp.
2. Reply offline
We’ve tested this method on Android 12 without enabling battery saver mode. Unfortunately, this does not work on iOS. Perhaps, setting your iPhone to low power mode should do the trick—this isn’t confirmed. The trick is to turn off your data connection or airplane mode. Now, open WhatsApp and send or reply to any message.
Next, close WhatsApp and enable data connection again. Do not open WhatsApp. WhatsApp should then send your pending messages in the background. If your most recent last seen was 12:00 am, it will not change even if you turn on data at 12:03 am.
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If your last seen is disabled, WhatsApp will not also show online to your contacts, as long as you don’t launch WhatsApp.
Just make sure that your WhatsApp can auto-start. If it’s frozen or app auto-start is disabled for WhatsApp, this method will not work.
The disadvantage is that once you come online, the messages anyone sent to you will show double ticks. This means their message was delivered to you.
3. Block user
You can block the contact that you don’t want to see you online while chatting. However, there are indicators that the person can use to know that you blocked them, so this is not always a good option.
When you block someone to hide WhatsApp online while chatting, they can no longer see your last seen or online. Your updates and contact profile photo will no longer be displayed. Also, messages they send to you will show just one check mark without the second.
If they try a video or voice call, it will not go through, so they know you blocked them. One thing you should know is that WhatsApp will not tell the contact you blocked or unblocked.
4. Use mod WhatsApp
If you want to explore several WhatsApp features, you need the mod (modified) WhatsApp. There are several mod WhatsApp apps, including GBWhatsApp, WhatsApp Plus, and FMWhatsApp. These offer the needed feature that will hide your WhatsApp online while chatting.
GBWhatsApp is a popular mod version of the official WhatsApp. It allows you to not only hide your WhatsApp online while chatting but also disable the double ticks, blue tick, and typing status.
As you probably know already, the double ticks show that WhatsApp delivered the message to you. It could be that you have been online on WhatsApp but have not yet opened the message or that you’ve not opened WhatsApp yet but your data connection is active.
The blue tick means that you’ve read the message delivered to you, and if you don’t want to reply to a particular person, they will know your intention. Thus, disabling the double and blue ticks keep your WhatsApp contacts in the dark.
Unfortunately, only mod WhatsApp versions like GB offer these features.
Another feature you want to disable is the typing status. If you mistakenly type a message to reply to someone, they won’t be able to tell, so you continue chatting with others without them knowing.
Mod WhatsApp safety
You’re probably wondering if we recommend installing a mod WhatsApp, no we don’t. Perhaps, the apps are trustworthy, but you risk exposing your personal information to web scrapers if you download a package that contains a virus.
We strongly recommend other methods in this article, which involve the use of the official WhatsApp. But if you must risk it, you can download a mod WhatsApp. Make sure it is from a source you trust.
iOS users will need to jailbreak their phone to be able to use mod WhatsApp. Jailbreaking is not advisable, and you risk permanently damaging your device.
The decision is yours—make it wisely.
