WhatsApp Ghost: use WhatsApp without being shown as online
Whenever you open the WhatsApp messaging application on your mobile device, your last seen counter is updated to reflect that.
What this means is that any contact that you have in WhatsApp sees when you were online the last time when they open the app on their device.
While that may not be an issue all of the time, you may sometimes want to avoid that your last online date and time is updated, for instance if you do not want someone to know that you read their message, or that you did not reply to their message the moment you read it.
It is possible to read messages on WhatsApp without being shown as online to others. I have outlined how that is done without software before.
Basically, you disable all network connections before you open the WhatsApp program. You can read all messages that have been downloaded to your system, and since you do not have a network connection at that time, your last seen date and time won't be updated as a consequence.
Update: WhatsApp Ghost is no longer available and a comparable app is not available. Note that you may disable Last Seen in the WhatsApp settings; this will disable last seen entirely, however, so that you won't be able to check last seen time and date either as well. To make the change, open Settings > Account > Privacy and change "last seen" on the page to Nobody or "My contacts". End
WhatsApp Ghost is a useful application for Android devices that automates that process for you. Instead of having to disable the network connections manually, it does so automatically for you when you run the software.
Even better, it displays all of your contacts and messages right after you run the Ghost application, so that you can read the messages comfortably without having to tap again to start WhatsApp manually.
Once you have read all the messages that you wanted to read, you can hit the back button. This displays a basic interface which you can use to turn off Ghost Mode again. If you do, all network connections are established again.
The WhatsApp Ghost application terminates Wi-Fi and wireless connections on your mobile device and launches the original WhatsApp application afterwards.
The only thing you have to change is to tap on the Ghost application icon when you want to use it instead of on the WhatsApp icon. Everything else remains the same.
Note that it hides the last seen status of your WhatsApp contacts, but that cannot be changed unfortunately and is not caused by the app but by how the WhatsApp application handles this.
Closing Words
WhatsApp Ghost is a handy app for Android if you want to check WhatsApp messages regularly without being shown as online to contacts.
If that is something that you only need to do occasionally, then it may make sense to use the manual way instead, as it avoids having to install another application on your device that you do not use a lot.
Uhh, this has already been possible – I am not sure how but remember my brother telling me about it. I’m not a whatsapp user so not sure of the specifics, but something about sending the image as a file and somehow bypassing the default compression settings that are applied to inbound photos.
He has also used this to share movies to whatsapp groups, and files 1Gb+.
Like I said, I never used whatsapp, but I know 100% this isn’t a “brand new feature”, my brother literally showed me him doing it, like… 5 months ago?
Martin, what happened to those: 12 Comments (https://www.ghacks.net/chatgpt-gets-schooled-by-princeton-university/#comments). Is there a specific justifiable reason why they were deleted?
Hmm, it looks like the gHacks website database is faulty, and not populating threads with their relevant cosponsoring posts.
The page on ghacks this is on represents the best of why it has become so worthless, fill of click-bait junk that it’s about to be deleted from my ‘daily reads’.
It’s really like “Press Release as re-written by some d*ck for clicks…poorly.” And the subjects are laughable. Can’t wait for “How to search for files on Windows”.
> The page on ghacks this is on represents the best of why it has become so worthless, fill of click-bait junk…
Sadly, I have to agree.
Only Martin and Ashwin are worth subscribing to.
Especially Emre Çitak and Shaun are the worst ones.
If ghacks.net intended “Clickbait”, it would mark the end of Ghacks Technology News.
Ghacks doesn’t need crappy clickbaits. Clearly separate articles from newer authors (perhaps AIs and external sales person or external advertising man) as just “Advertisements”!
We, the subscribers of Ghacks, urge Martin to make a decision.
because nevermore wants to “monetize” on every aspect of human life…
“Threads” is like the Walmart of Social Media.
How hard can it be to clone a twitter version of that as well? They’re slow.
Yes, why not mention how large the HD files can be?
Why, not mention what version of WhatsApp is needed?
These omissions make the article feel so bare. If not complete.
Sorry posted on the wrong page.
such a long article for such a simple matter. Worthless article ! waste of time
I already do this by attaching them via the ‘Document’ option.
I don’t know what’s going on here at Ghacks but it’s obvious that something is broken, comments are being mixed whatever the article, I am unable to find some of my later posts neither. :S
Quoting the article,
“As users gain popularity, the value of their tokens may increase, allowing investors to reap rewards.”
Besides, beyond the thrill and privacy risks or not, the point is to know how you gain popularity, be it on social sites as everywhere in life. Is it by being authentic, by remaining faithful to ourselves or is it to have this particular skill which is to understand what a majority likes, just like politicians, those who’d deny to the maximum extent compatible with their ideological partnership, in order to grab as many of the voters they can?
I see the very concept of this Friend.tech as unhealthy, propagating what is already an increasing flaw : the quest for fame. I won’t be the only one to count himself out, definitely.
@John G. is right : my comment was posted on [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/23/what-is-friend-tech/] and it appears there but as well here at [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/08/how-to-follow-everyone-on-threads/]
This has been lasting for several days. Fix it or at least provide some explanations if you don’t mind.
> Google Chrome is following in Safari’s footsteps by introducing a new feature that allows users to move the Chrome address bar to the bottom of the screen, enhancing user accessibility and interaction.
Firefox did this long before Safari.
Basically they’ll do anything except fair royalties.