Privacy - WhatsApp Rust

The privacy API allows you to fetch and update account-level privacy settings, such as who can see your last seen, profile photo, about text, and online status. All methods use type-safe enums for categories and values.

Access

Privacy operations are available directly on the Client:

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{PrivacyCategory, PrivacyValue};

let settings = client.fetch_privacy_settings().await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Last, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;

Methods

fetch_privacy_settings

Fetch all current privacy settings.

pub async fn fetch_privacy_settings(&self) -> Result<PrivacySettingsResponse, IqError>

Returns:

PrivacySettingsResponse - Contains a list of all privacy settings

Example:

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{PrivacyCategory, PrivacyValue};

let response = client.fetch_privacy_settings().await?;

for setting in &response.settings {
    println!("{:?} = {:?}", setting.category, setting.value);
}

// Look up a specific category
if let Some(value) = response.get_value(&PrivacyCategory::Last) {
    println!("Last seen: {:?}", value);
}

The client also fetches privacy settings automatically in the background right after connecting, purely to keep an internal cache current. Today the only setting cached this way is ReadReceipts, which gates the wire type of outgoing DM read/played receipts (see Read receipt privacy gating). That cache is written only by the automatic background fetch on connect — calling fetch_privacy_settings yourself is a bare passthrough that returns the current server-side values without touching device state, so it does not also refresh the cache. Call it directly when you need the full, current set of values, e.g. to render a settings screen; a reconnect (not a manual call) is what updates the cached read-receipts gate.

set_privacy_setting

Update a specific privacy setting.

pub async fn set_privacy_setting(
    &self,
    category: PrivacyCategory,
    value: PrivacyValue,
) -> Result<SetPrivacySettingResponse, IqError>

Parameters:

category - A PrivacyCategory enum variant
value - A PrivacyValue enum variant (must be valid for the category)

Returns:

SetPrivacySettingResponse - Contains an optional dhash field (present only for ContactBlacklist operations)

Example:

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{PrivacyCategory, PrivacyValue};

// Hide last seen from everyone
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Last, PrivacyValue::None).await?;

// Show profile photo only to contacts
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Profile, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;

// Allow everyone to add you to groups
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::GroupAdd, PrivacyValue::All).await?;

// Disable read receipts
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::ReadReceipts, PrivacyValue::None).await?;

// Restrict calls to known contacts only
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::CallAdd, PrivacyValue::Known).await?;

Each PrivacyCategory only accepts specific PrivacyValue variants. See the valid combinations table below.

Setting ReadReceipts to None takes effect on the next connect (the client re-fetches and re-caches the setting on each connect, matching WhatsApp Web, which reads it from local prefs) — calling fetch_privacy_settings yourself in the same session does not refresh that cache either (see the note above); a reconnect is currently the only way. From then on, mark_as_read/mark_as_played on a direct message send read-self/played-self instead of read/played, so the other party is no longer notified. This only applies to DMs — group, broadcast list, status-broadcast, and newsletter receipts are unaffected. See Read receipt privacy gating.

set_privacy_disallowed_list

Update a privacy category’s disallowed list (contacts-except-specific-users mode). Only available for categories that support ContactBlacklist: Last, Profile, Status, and GroupAdd.

pub async fn set_privacy_disallowed_list(
    &self,
    category: PrivacyCategory,
    update: DisallowedListUpdate,
) -> Result<SetPrivacySettingResponse, IqError>

Parameters:

category - Must be Last, Profile, Status, or GroupAdd
update - A DisallowedListUpdate containing the dhash and user entries to add/remove

Returns:

SetPrivacySettingResponse - Contains the updated dhash for conflict detection

Example:

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{
    PrivacyCategory, DisallowedListUpdate, DisallowedListUserEntry, DisallowedListAction,
};

// First, set the category to contact_blacklist mode
client.set_privacy_setting(
    PrivacyCategory::Last,
    PrivacyValue::ContactBlacklist,
).await?;

// Then update the disallowed list
let update = DisallowedListUpdate {
    dhash: "current_hash".to_string(), // from previous response
    users: vec![
        DisallowedListUserEntry {
            action: DisallowedListAction::Add,
            jid: blocked_user_lid,
            pn_jid: Some(blocked_user_pn),
        },
    ],
};

let response = client.set_privacy_disallowed_list(
    PrivacyCategory::Last,
    update,
).await?;

// Save the new dhash for future updates
let new_dhash = response.dhash;

set_default_disappearing_mode

Set the default disappearing messages duration for all new chats.

pub async fn set_default_disappearing_mode(
    &self,
    duration: u32,
) -> Result<(), IqError>

Parameters:

duration - Timer in seconds. Common values: 86400 (24 hours), 604800 (7 days), 7776000 (90 days). Pass 0 to disable.

Example:

// Enable 7-day default disappearing messages
client.set_default_disappearing_mode(604800).await?;

// Disable default disappearing messages
client.set_default_disappearing_mode(0).await?;

This sets the default for new chats only. Existing chats keep their current setting. To change disappearing messages for a specific group, use set_ephemeral.

Types

PrivacyCategory

Controls which privacy setting is being read or written. Each category maps to a wire-protocol string value.

pub enum PrivacyCategory {
    Last,           // "last" — Last seen visibility
    Online,         // "online" — Online status visibility
    Profile,        // "profile" — Profile photo visibility
    Status,         // "status" — Status/story visibility
    GroupAdd,       // "groupadd" — Who can add you to groups
    ReadReceipts,   // "readreceipts" — Read receipt visibility
    CallAdd,        // "calladd" — Who can call you
    Messages,       // "messages" — Who can message you
    DefenseMode,    // "defense" — Defense mode configuration
    Other(String),  // Unknown/future category
}

PrivacyValue

The value assigned to a privacy category.

pub enum PrivacyValue {
    All,              // "all" — Visible to everyone
    Contacts,         // "contacts" — Visible only to contacts
    None,             // "none" — Not visible to anyone
    ContactBlacklist, // "contact_blacklist" — Contacts except specific list
    MatchLastSeen,    // "match_last_seen" — Match the other person's setting
    Known,            // "known" — Known contacts (for calls)
    Off,              // "off" — Feature disabled (defense mode)
    OnStandard,       // "on_standard" — Standard mode (defense mode)
    Other(String),    // Unknown/future value
}

Valid category-value combinations

Not all values are valid for every category. Use PrivacyCategory::is_valid_value() to check at runtime.

Category	Valid values
`Last`	`All`, `Contacts`, `ContactBlacklist`, `None`
`Online`	`All`, `MatchLastSeen`
`Profile`	`All`, `Contacts`, `ContactBlacklist`, `None`
`Status`	`All`, `Contacts`, `ContactBlacklist`, `None`
`GroupAdd`	`All`, `Contacts`, `ContactBlacklist`, `None`
`ReadReceipts`	`All`, `None`
`CallAdd`	`All`, `Known`, `Contacts`
`Messages`	`All`, `Contacts`
`DefenseMode`	`Off`, `OnStandard`

PrivacySetting

pub struct PrivacySetting {
    pub category: PrivacyCategory,
    pub value: PrivacyValue,
}

PrivacySettingsResponse

pub struct PrivacySettingsResponse {
    pub settings: Vec<PrivacySetting>,
}

Methods:

get(&self, category: &PrivacyCategory) -> Option<&PrivacySetting> - Look up a setting by category
get_value(&self, category: &PrivacyCategory) -> Option<&PrivacyValue> - Look up a value directly

SetPrivacySettingResponse

pub struct SetPrivacySettingResponse {
    pub dhash: Option<String>,
}

The dhash field is populated when setting a ContactBlacklist value or updating a disallowed list. Use it for conflict detection on subsequent updates.

DisallowedListUpdate

Used with set_privacy_disallowed_list to add or remove users from a category’s disallowed list.

pub struct DisallowedListUpdate {
    pub dhash: String,
    pub users: Vec<DisallowedListUserEntry>,
}

DisallowedListUserEntry

pub struct DisallowedListUserEntry {
    pub action: DisallowedListAction,
    pub jid: Jid,
    pub pn_jid: Option<Jid>,
}

DisallowedListAction

pub enum DisallowedListAction {
    Add,    // "add" — Add user to disallowed list (default)
    Remove, // "remove" — Remove user from disallowed list
}

Common patterns

Fetch and display all settings

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{PrivacyCategory, PrivacyValue};

let response = client.fetch_privacy_settings().await?;

let categories = [
    PrivacyCategory::Last,
    PrivacyCategory::Online,
    PrivacyCategory::Profile,
    PrivacyCategory::Status,
    PrivacyCategory::GroupAdd,
    PrivacyCategory::ReadReceipts,
    PrivacyCategory::CallAdd,
    PrivacyCategory::Messages,
    PrivacyCategory::DefenseMode,
];

for category in &categories {
    let value = response
        .get_value(category)
        .unwrap_or(&PrivacyValue::All);
    println!("{:?}: {:?}", category, value);
}

Maximum privacy configuration

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{PrivacyCategory, PrivacyValue};

client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Last, PrivacyValue::None).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Online, PrivacyValue::MatchLastSeen).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Profile, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Status, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::GroupAdd, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::ReadReceipts, PrivacyValue::None).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::CallAdd, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;
client.set_privacy_setting(PrivacyCategory::Messages, PrivacyValue::Contacts).await?;

Validate before setting

use whatsapp_rust::privacy_settings::{PrivacyCategory, PrivacyValue};

let category = PrivacyCategory::Online;
let value = PrivacyValue::None;

if category.is_valid_value(&value) {
    client.set_privacy_setting(category, value).await?;
} else {
    eprintln!("Invalid value for category");
}

​Access

​Methods

​fetch_privacy_settings

​set_privacy_setting

​set_privacy_disallowed_list

​set_default_disappearing_mode

​Types

​PrivacyCategory

​PrivacyValue

​Valid category-value combinations

​PrivacySetting

​PrivacySettingsResponse

​SetPrivacySettingResponse

​DisallowedListUpdate

​DisallowedListUserEntry

​DisallowedListAction

​Common patterns

​Fetch and display all settings

​Maximum privacy configuration

​Validate before setting

​See also

Access

Methods

fetch_privacy_settings

set_privacy_setting

set_privacy_disallowed_list

set_default_disappearing_mode

Types

PrivacyCategory

PrivacyValue

Valid category-value combinations

PrivacySetting

PrivacySettingsResponse

SetPrivacySettingResponse

DisallowedListUpdate

DisallowedListUserEntry

DisallowedListAction

Common patterns

Fetch and display all settings

Maximum privacy configuration

Validate before setting

See also