WhatsApp users will soon be able to leave group chats without others knowing and control who sees when they are online.
The game-changing new features are part of a privacy update which is rolling out across the Meta-owned platform this month.
It means tactics such as muting group conversations to avoid awkward exit notifications or waiting to open messages to appear offline could soon be a thing of the past.
Users will also be given the ability to block people from taking screenshots of View Once messages, which are designed to disappear after being opened.
WhatsApp confirmed the screenshot blocking tool is being tested with plans to launch it soon.
In a post announcing the update, Mark Zuckerberg said: “We’ll keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”
Currently, when a user leaves a group chat a notification appears at the bottom of the conversation telling others in the group who has left.
And while users are already able to turn off a feature which tells others if they have read a message, it has not been possible until now to hide the fact that a user was online and using WhatsApp.
The messaging platform said the new features aimed to keep improving the privacy around online conversations.
Some campaigners have raised concerns about the end-to-end encryption used on WhatsApp and some other platforms to secure conversations, arguing that it can allow criminals to evade detection.
While Ami Vora, WhatsApp’s head of product, said the platform was focused on building features that "empower people to have more control and privacy over their messages".
She said: "Over the years, we’ve added interlocking layers of protection to help keep their conversations secure, and the new features is one way we continue to deliver on our commitment to keep messages private.
"No other global messaging service at this scale provides this level of security for their users’ messages, media, voice messages, video calls, and chat backups.
"We believe WhatsApp is the most secure place to have a private conversation.
"And to spread the word about these new features, we’re also kicking off a global campaign, starting with the UK and India, to educate people about how we work to protect their private conversations on WhatsApp."
Group chat features were recently updated in June, allowing users to create conversations with 512 people.
The update means work and friendship chats have become more chaotic for some, after the number of people allowed to be added massively increased.
In a statement, the tech giant said the update came in response to "one of the top requests we've consistently received" being the option to add more people to a chat.
WhatsApp groups were previously limited to 100 people before being lifted to 256 in 2016 by popular demand.
