How To Go Invisible On WhatsApp: Four Easy Steps To Stay Hidden On The Messaging App

WhatsApp is a demanding mistress. You can't not have it these days, given that it's largely how everyone communicates. And if you have it, it sometimes chimes so much you just want it to shut the hell up. Well, there are a few options to do that.

The simplest thing of course would be to just put your phone on silent mode. But maybe WhatsApp is the only thing bothering you, and you want to be alerted to your calls and emails. That could be a problem then.

But unlike other social media apps, WhatsApp doesn't have a 'Go Offline' or 'Busy' setting. You're either online or you're not. Luckily, there are some alternatives to the binary choice of deleting the app or the incessant chiming driving you insane.

1. Turn off 'Last Seen' and your 'Read Notifications'

The easiest way to tune out is to turn off your 'Read Notifications' from the Account tab of your WhatsApp settings menu. This stops people from receiving the blue tick that tells them when you've opened the app and seen a new message. Of course, this works best if you also turn off your 'Last Seen' setting from the same location. It's the simplest way to tell your friends you need some time to yourself. For those that can't take the hint, the next few ideas should work.

2. Disable notifications

This one is fairly simple, just go the 'Apps' section of your phone settings menu, select WhatsApp, and disable all notifications for it. Turn off the vibration and pop-up notifications, and select the 'None' ringtone. Now you won't feel compelled to check your phone every few seconds. At least, so long as your display remains off and you don't look at the blip on your app icon.

3. Turn off WhatsApp notification light

Once you've turned off your phone notifications, you're going to also want to turn off the notification LED that blinks when you get a message. To do that, go into your WhatsApp settings, enter the 'Notifications tab, and turn the light off. Presto, you are now officially dead to all its conversations.

Additionally, you can also remove the app icon from your Home screen. That way, with the notifications for the app turned off, there's no way to know what messages you've received until you manually open the app from the app drawer.

4. Turn off mobile data for WhatsApp

Or maybe that's not enough, maybe you don't want other people to know you're just ignoring your messages. To do that, you can just turn off your mobile data for WhatsApp. Go into the 'Apps' tab of your settings, and toggle on the 'Disable Wi-Fi' and 'Disable Data Usage' options. Alternatively, you can just force stop the app until you open it up again later. The problem here is people might just call you if they think you're not receiving their messages.

Happy disconnect!