WhatsApp iOS users are failing to update their privacy settings
WhatsApp users on the iOS version are encountering a problem while trying to update privacy settings. It appears to be a widespread issue as users from various countries, including the US and India, are unable to change their "Who can see when I am online" settings. The messaging services appear to be working fine but WhatsApp is yet to acknowledge the problem.
Why does this story matter?
Social media outages are not new to us but each time a service fails, the inconvenience is hard to manage. The current one is all the more bothersome considering it is an issue with the privacy settings. So far, there is no word on what has caused the issue and by when it will get resolved, leading to more worries among users.
An error message pops up when settings are being changed
Some users on the iOS version are unable to toggle between the 'Who can see when I am online' options, available under the 'Last seen and online' settings within the privacy section on Whatsapp. Whether users select "Everyone" or "Same as Last Seen," an error message pops up saying: "WhatsApp was not able to change privacy setting. Please try again later."
The issue is likely from the server side
If you have hidden your "online" status visibility on WhatsApp, then your current configuration is safe and other users will not be able to see when you are online. According to WABetaInfo, the current glitch in the privacy settings is an issue from the server side and is not due to a faulty iOS update.
The number of users impacted is not known as yet
Several users across the world have reported the problem while trying to update the privacy settings. However, the exact number of users impacted by this glitch is not known as yet. We do not know the root cause of the problem and the company has not released any official statement on the matter. In fact, WhatsApp is yet to acknowledge the current issue.
WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram were recently down for US users
Recently, Meta-owned social media apps—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—were down on January 25 for thousands of users in the US. Over 12,000 users on Instagram reported issues while accessing the app, and about 8,000 cases were reported for the Facebook app. As per the outage tracking website Downdetector.com, there were several outage reports recorded for WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as well.
