Social Media · WhatsApp on iPhone or Android

Hide Your WhatsApp Status From Selected Contacts

Source-checked About 3 minutes

Answer

Open WhatsApp's Updates tab, open Status privacy, and choose My contacts except to hide future status updates from selected contacts. Choose Only share with if only a small group should see them. The new audience does not change a status you already posted, so set privacy before sharing the next update.

Before you continue
  • Choose the audienceExclude a few people or allow only selected people.
  • Set it firstThe change applies to future status updates.
  • Check mentionsA mentioned contact or group can still receive that status.
Read WhatsApp's status privacy guide
Guide steps6 steps
  1. Open the Updates tab
  2. Open Status privacy
  3. Choose My contacts except
  4. Or choose Only share with
  5. Confirm the selection
  6. Post a new status
  7. If it still does not work

Open the Updates tab

Open WhatsApp and select Updates. Find the Status section.

Open Status privacy

Open the Status menu, usually shown as three dots, and choose Status privacy. On some versions you can reach the same choices through Settings > Privacy > Status.

Choose My contacts except

Use My contacts except when most contacts may see the status but a few should not. Select every contact you want to exclude.

Or choose Only share with

Use Only share with when the status is intended for a small group. Select only the contacts who should receive it.

Confirm the selection

Save or confirm the audience. Reopen Status privacy and make sure the intended choice and contact count are still shown.

Post a new status

Create the status only after confirming privacy. The setting does not remove an already shared status from someone who could previously see it.

If it does not work

  • If a person saw an older status, remember that changing privacy does not alter statuses that were already shared.
  • If you mention a contact or group in the status, WhatsApp can share it with the mentioned recipients even if they are outside the normal audience.
  • If a contact is missing from the picker, save their number correctly, refresh WhatsApp's contacts permission, and reopen Status privacy.
Sources and verification

Checked against official documentation on . Scope: WhatsApp on iPhone or Android.

The written steps follow the current official pages linked below. The saved video is an older walkthrough and may show different labels.

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