Controls & Settings guide
WhatsApp privacy settings allow you to restrict who can see your child’s messages and location. There are also ways to block delete or report users on the platform.
A WhatsApp account
Chatting 
Downloading file sharing 
Location sharing 
Privacy 
Privacy and identity theft These steps were produced on an iPhone.
Control who sees your information
How to block contacts
How to report contacts
How to change group privacy settings
Disable automatic photo or video downloads
Enable Screen Lock
Disable Live Location
Control who sees your information
You can set your last seen, profile photo and/or status to the following options:
Everyone, My Contacts and Nobody:
Open WhatsApp and go to your Settings, tap Account, then tap Privacy.
Next, tap your selected option, then choose from either option: ‘Everyone’, ‘My Contacts’ or ‘Nobody’.
The changes will be applied automatically.
How to block contacts
You can stop receiving messages, calls and status updates from certain contacts by blocking them.
Open WhatsApp, choose the person you want to block either by searching or scrolling through your chat list.
Tap on their name, then scroll down and tap Block Contact.
How to report contacts
Open WhatsApp, choose the person you want to report either by searching or scrolling through your chat list.
Tap on their name, then scroll down and tap Report or Report and Block Contact.
Please note, if you report and block, your chat with this contact will also be deleted.
How to change group privacy settings
You can decide who can add you to groups by selecting your preferred option.
Open WhatsApp, go to Settings, tap Account, Privacy then Groups.
Next, choose from either option:’Everyone’, ‘My Contacts’ or ‘My Contacts Except…’
Admins who can’t add you to a group will have the option of inviting you privately instead.
Disable automatic photo or video downloads
The default settings for WhatsApp is that photos and videos you receive are automatically saved to your camera roll. To disable this:
Open WhatsApp, go to Setting, tap Chat, next to Save to Camera Roll, slide to toggle off.
If prompted, tap DONE or tap OK.
Group privacy settings aren’t available on WhatsApp Web or Desktop.
Enable Screen Lock
When enabled, you’ll need Face ID to unlock WhatsApp.
Open WhatsApp, go to Settings, tap Account, Privacy then tap Screen Lock.
Swipe to switch the feature on, then tap the time you want to apply.
These changes are automatically applied.
Disable Live Location
Live location requires background location which can be managed from your device settings:
Go to your device Settings, then scroll down to WhatsApp, tap this then tap Location. To turn off location select the Never or Ask Next Time option.
Go back to WhatsApp to check the location is switched off. Go to Settings, Account, Privacy then Live Location.
Use search to find device, platform and networks guides or let us know if you still can’t
Follow these links to learn more or download this information.
See more resources and articles to help children stay safe online.
