The easiest way to review your WhatsApp privacy settings is by using Privacy Checkup.

This feature guides you through important privacy options, including who can contact you, who can see your personal information, and how to add extra protection to your account.

How to use Privacy Checkup:

Open WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Start Checkup

From here, you can review different privacy settings step by step.

Why this matters:

Privacy Checkup is useful because it brings many important settings together instead of making you search for each option separately.

Your “Last Seen” and “Online” status can reveal when you are active on WhatsApp. This may not seem like a big deal, but it can affect your privacy, especially if you don’t want everyone to know when you were last active.

Recommended setting:

Set Last Seen to:

My Contacts or Nobody

Set Online status to:

Same as Last Seen

How to change it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Last Seen & Online

Best option for privacy:

If you want better privacy, choose Nobody for Last Seen and Same as Last Seen for Online.

This helps prevent strangers or unnecessary contacts from tracking your activity.

Your WhatsApp profile photo may be visible to people who have your number. If your profile photo is personal, it is better to restrict who can see it.

Recommended setting:

My Contacts or My Contacts Except…

How to change it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Profile Photo

Best option:

Choose My Contacts if you only want saved contacts to see your photo.

Choose My Contacts Except… if you want to hide it from specific people.

This is one of the simplest WhatsApp privacy settings you should change today.

Random WhatsApp groups can be annoying and sometimes risky. Unknown groups may include spam messages, fake links, promotional content, or scams.

WhatsApp allows you to control who can add you to groups through group privacy settings.

Recommended setting:

My Contacts or My Contacts Except…

How to change it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Groups

Best option:

Choose My Contacts Except… and exclude people who often add you to unnecessary groups.

This prevents random people from adding you directly to unknown groups.

Two-step verification is one of the most important WhatsApp security settings.

It adds an extra layer of protection to your WhatsApp account by requiring a six-digit PIN when registering your phone number again on WhatsApp. WhatsApp describes two-step verification as an optional feature that adds more security to your account.

How to enable two-step verification:

WhatsApp → Settings → Account → Two-step verification → Turn on

You will need to create a six-digit PIN. WhatsApp also allows you to add an email address, which can help you reset the PIN if you forget it.

Why this matters:

If someone tries to register your WhatsApp number on another phone, two-step verification adds extra protection.

This is a must-change setting for every WhatsApp user.

Spam calls on WhatsApp are increasing. Unknown callers can disturb you, waste your time, or even be part of scam attempts.

WhatsApp lets you silence unknown callers, which helps reduce unwanted interruptions. The calls may still appear in your calls tab, but they won’t disturb you like normal incoming calls. WhatsApp’s Privacy Checkup also includes options to manage unwanted calls and messages.

How to enable it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Calls → Silence Unknown Callers

Recommended setting:

Turn it ON

This is especially useful if your number is shared in business groups, online platforms, or public directories.

Your WhatsApp Status can reveal personal updates, travel plans, family moments, or daily activities. Not everyone in your contact list needs to see it.

Recommended setting:

My Contacts Except… or Only Share With…

How to change it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Status

Best option:

Use Only Share With… if you want to share status updates only with close friends or family.

This gives you better control over who sees your updates.

Live Location is useful when you want to share your real-time location with someone. But if you forget to turn it off, it can continue sharing your movement for the selected duration.

WhatsApp privacy settings allow users to manage live location visibility.

How to check live location:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Live Location

If you see an active live location session, stop sharing it when it is no longer needed.

Why this matters:

Your live location is sensitive information. Only share it with trusted people and only when necessary.

Read Receipts show blue ticks when you read someone’s message.

If you prefer more privacy, you can turn them off.

How to change it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Read Receipts

Important note:

If you turn off read receipts, you also won’t be able to see read receipts from others.

Also, read receipts may still apply in group chats.

This setting is useful if you don’t want people to know exactly when you read their messages.

If you receive a high volume of unknown messages, WhatsApp has an advanced privacy option to block unknown account messages. According to WhatsApp Help, this option is available under Settings → Privacy → Advanced.

How to enable it:

WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Advanced → Block unknown account messages

Why this helps:

It can reduce unwanted messages from unknown accounts, especially when your number is exposed publicly or added to multiple groups.

WhatsApp Web and Linked Devices are useful, but you should regularly check if your account is connected to any device you don’t recognize.

How to check linked devices:

WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices

If you see an unknown device, log it out immediately.

Why this matters:

If someone gets access to your WhatsApp on another device, they may be able to view your chats and activity. Make it a habit to check linked devices regularly.

Even with strong privacy settings, you still need to be careful with suspicious messages.

Avoid clicking:

• Unknown links
• Fake offers
• Lottery messages
• Bank verification links
• APK files
• “Forward this to claim reward” messages

WhatsApp privacy settings can reduce risk, but your own awareness is equally important.

Here is a quick summary of the recommended settings:

What are the best WhatsApp privacy settings?

The best WhatsApp privacy settings include hiding your last seen and online status, limiting your profile photo to contacts, enabling two-step verification, controlling who can add you to groups, silencing unknown callers, and reviewing linked devices regularly.

Should I turn on two-step verification on WhatsApp?

Yes. Two-step verification adds extra security to your WhatsApp account by requiring a six-digit PIN when registering your phone number again. It is one of the most important WhatsApp security settings.

Can strangers see my WhatsApp profile photo?

This depends on your privacy settings. You can limit your profile photo visibility by going to WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Profile Photo and selecting My Contacts or My Contacts Except.

How do I stop unknown people from adding me to WhatsApp groups?

Go to WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Groups and choose My Contacts or My Contacts Except. This helps prevent unknown people from directly adding you to unwanted groups.

How do I stop unknown callers on WhatsApp?

Go to WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Calls → Silence Unknown Callers and turn it ON.

WhatsApp is used daily for personal chats, family groups, business conversations, and even payments. That is why reviewing your WhatsApp privacy settings is important.

Start with Privacy Checkup, hide your last seen and online status, limit who can see your profile photo, control group invites, enable two-step verification, and silence unknown callers. These small changes can make your WhatsApp account much safer and more private.

If you use WhatsApp every day, don’t ignore these settings. Review them today and protect your personal information before it is exposed.