How to mute your whatsapp


How to mute annoying chats on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram

This article was published on July 25, 2019

Story by
Ivan Mehta
Story by
Ivan Mehta

Ivan covers Big Tech, India, policy, AI, security, platforms, and apps for TNW. That's one heck of a mixed bag. He likes to say "Bleh." Ivan covers Big Tech, India, policy, AI, security, platforms, and apps for TNW. That's one heck of a mixed bag. He likes to say "Bleh."

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff.

Modern-day chat apps have allowed us to stay connected with our friends and family. But there are some pesky people and groups whom you don’t want to interact with all the time. That’s why these apps have a mute function that hides alerts from a particular chat for a certain period.

WhatsApp

  • Open the app on your phone.
  • Tap on the chat you want to mute.
    • If you’re using the Android app, tap on the three-dot menu on the top-right corner, and then select the Mute option.
    • If you’re using the iOS app, tap on the group or person’s name, and then select the Mute option.
  • You can choose to mute a chat for eight hours, one week, or one year.
WhatsApp Mute

Messenger

  • Open the app on your phone, and tap on the chat you want to mute.
  • Tap on the person or the group name, and then tap the mute icon.
  • You can mute a chat for 15 minutes, one hour, eight hours, 24 hours, or forever.
Facebook Messenger mute option

Instagram

  • Open the app on your phone, and tap on the chat you want to mute.
  • Tap the info icon on the top right corner.
  • Tap on the mute messages toggle to stop getting notification from that chat.
Mute on Instagram

If you’re tired of people who post too many Instagram stories, you can check out our guide to mute them.

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What Happens When You Mute Someone on WhatsApp

You immediately breathe a sigh of relief

Everyone uses WhatsApp. Perhaps that explains why the instant messaging platform is a handful sometimes. Unsolicited texts, spam messages, and excessive group messages are some common menace many WhatsApp users have to deal with. Thankfully, the WhatsApp Mute feature lets you catch a break when conversations become a bother.

When notifications from WhatsApp get distracting, muting conversations can help you focus. In this article, we’ll dive into how to mute WhatsApp notifications, what happens when you mute someone on WhatsApp, and other related queries.

Table of Contents

    What Is Mute on WhatsApp

    WhatsApp comes with two types Mute of functionalities: 

    Mute notifications for individual or group chats and Mute for status. We’ll walk you through both and their differences.

    What Happens When You Mute Chat Notifications on WhatsApp

    By default, WhatsApp sends a push notification with sound alerts each time you get a text from an individual or a group chat. When you mute someone, however, WhatsApp will silence notifications for subsequent texts received in the conversation.

    Say you mute your cousin, Simon, who sends you incessant and offensive texts and memes on WhatsApp. Simon will still be able to send you messages, reach you via voice or video calls, and view your status updates. The only thing that changes is that WhatsApp won’t notify you in real-time; you’ll see Simon’s messages only when you open the app.

    You’ll find a crossed-out speaker icon next to the contact or group’s name during the mute period.

    What Happens When You Mute Status on WhatsApp

    When you hit that mute button on a status update, WhatsApp won’t push subsequent updates from that particular contact to the Recent Updates queue. You can still view a muted status but you’ll have to scroll all the way down to the Muted Updates section in the status tab.

    Muted Conversations Are Not 100% Efficient

    Muting a personal chat will only silence messages, not calls. If a muted contact calls you on WhatsApp, your phone will ring and you’ll get a notification. For muted group chats, you’ll get a notification when a participant mentions you or sends a reply to your message(s).

    Muting a Chat vs. Muting a Status

    “Mute notifications for chats” and “Mute for status updates” are two entirely different features and shouldn’t be confused with the other. It’s also worth mentioning that they are mutually exclusive; muting a contact’s conversation will not mute their status updates. Neither will muting a contact’s status update silence texts notifications.

    Don’t want to receive both text or status notifications from a contact? You’ll have to individually mute your conversation with them in the Chats section and mute their status updates in the Status tab.

    Muting Is Discreet

    When you mute a contact’s conversation or their status update, it’s your secret to keep. WhatsApp won’t notify the other party that you muted them. Similarly, you cannot tell if someone muted you, either. The same applies to group chats. No one in the group, not even the admin, will know that you muted the group. 

    Difference Between Mute and Block on WhatsApp

    Muting someone on WhatsApp is like turning off the volume of your TV. All components of the TV will remain functional except the speakers. You can still watch content, switch channels, and do other stuff but you won’t get distracted by the noise. Blocking a WhatsApp contact, on the other hand, is like turning off the TV. That shuts down all components of the television.

    Mute vs. Block: For Personal or Individual Chats

    When you block a contact (or an unknown number) on WhatsApp, their texts and voice messages don’t get delivered to you. They cannot reach you via voice or video calls, either. That’s because, just like turning off your TV, you’ve shut down all points of direct communication with the person.

    In addition, they can’t view your status updates, profile picture, and online information (online status and last seen). Blocking someone on WhatsApp also means that you can’t reach the person via text or calls, neither can you view their status updates unless you unblock them.

    Muting someone on WhatsApp is a thing of individual preference. The feature ONLY silences message notifications on your device and that’s about it. WhatsApp will notify a muted contact about your messages—unless they’ve also muted you on their end.

    Mute vs. Block: For Group Chats

    While it’s possible to mute both personal and group chats on WhatsApp, you can only block personal chats. Exiting a group is the closest alternative to blocking a group.

    Mute Out Distractions

    Summarily, muting a conversation on WhatsApp only impacts the delivery of text notifications. You can think of it as a Do Not Disturb for WhatsApp. It shuts out all alerts for personal or group chats for a specified period. And that’s about it.

    There’s no limit to the number of chats or groups that you can mute on WhatsApp. However, if you feel the need to mute multiple conversations or everyone on your chat list (which is a lot stressful), disabling WhatsApp notifications in your device settings is an easier alternative. 

    For iOS, go to Settings > Notifications > WhatsApp and turn off Allow Notifications.

    For Android, navigate to Settings > Apps & notifications > WhatsApp > Notifications and set the option to Off.

    If you don’t want to block someone on WhatsApp, muting them is the next best thing to do. Note that muting or blocking someone on WhatsApp is limited to the app only. Muted or blocked contacts can still reach you via cellular calls, SMS, or other messaging platforms.

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    90,000 how to get out of Watsap, temporarily disconnect whatsApp in the phone on android

    Content

    • Method No. 1
    • Method No. 2
    • Method No. 3
    • Method No. 4
    • Method No. 5
    • Method No. 6

    Messenger allows you to always stay in touch with loved ones and colleagues. The application starts when the phone is turned on. However, sometimes you still want to live in the real world without responding to messages. Can I log out of WhatsApp? How to enable offline mode? nine0003

    The developers did not provide an option to log out of the account. However, to stop receiving notifications, you can use one of the suggested methods below.

    Method No. 1

    You can leave Vatsap for a while by turning off the Internet on the device: mobile 3G connection or Wi-Fi. Without it, the program simply cannot function. This method may not be suitable if you need the Internet for other purposes: for example, for simple surfing in a browser.

    Method no. 2

    If the first method didn't work for you, then you just don't want to get endless message notifications. They cannot be turned off within the program. This method is suitable for disabling Wasap on an iPhone.

    1. Go to Settings (gear icon in the general menu). Go to the block with the messenger program. As a rule, it is located below. Open Notifications.

    2. Set the slider opposite "Allow notifications" to inactive status.

    Method no. 3

    To disable the messenger, you need to stop the application. The method below will help unload the application from the device's RAM.

    1. Go to Settings.
    2. Open a section called Application Manager or Applications.
    3. Press the "Stop" button.

    An excellent solution for those who want to temporarily leave the messenger for one reason or another, but do not want to interrupt the connection to the network on the device.

    Method no. 4

    You can turn off WhatsApp through a number of third-party applications. For Android OS, the Hide Status program is suitable. You will change your online status to offline. The latter will be shown even if you do not turn off the Internet connection on the device.

    To hide the status through the messenger itself, open the "Account" block, go to the "Privacy" section and, further, to the "Status".

    Note: Keep in mind that if you hide your visit time, you won't be able to see when your friends have logged in. nine0003

    Method No. 5

    This method will help you disable WhatsApp not only on your phone, but also on your computer. So what to do?

    1. Go to the WhatsApp application on Android or iOS.
    2. Open Settings and then Web or, in other words, Web/Comp.
    3. Click on the phrase "Log out from all computers" and confirm the exit.

    Method No. 6

    How to log out of WhatsApp if none of the above methods work or fail to implement. In this case, you just need to get rid of the software. nine0003

    Uninstalling the program is a last resort. If you want to continue using this program, you should not do this. Of course, you can reinstall the program later, but messages and other information may not be saved.

    Turning off the messenger completely, as you can see, is not at all difficult. Without the Internet, the program stops working, so if you want to take a break from the fuss and annoying messages, disabling data transfer will help you.

    How to log out of WhatsApp? nine0001

    It happens that you need to temporarily disable all applications and notifications from them, but somehow you don’t want to delete them and reinstall them. Therefore, now we will tell you how to log out of WhatsApp for a certain period without losing messages and other data.

    How to log out of WhatsApp on your phone

    First, let's look at how to log out of WhatsApp on your phone. In fact, there are several such methods, we will try to list them all.

    So how do you exit the application without losing anything. If you are just afraid that by closing WhatsApp you will miss new messages, then you should know that notifications will come to your phone even after that. All applications in modern gadgets by default work in the "smart background" (not to be confused with the smartphone itself) - a special mode in which the application "sleeps" until you receive a message on it. Then it wakes up and sends you a notification about it. This option is needed so that the program does not run constantly in the background, mercilessly devouring the battery of your device. nine0003

    Therefore, you can safely close WhatsApp and not be afraid that you will miss something important. However, this function may work slightly incorrectly on some phones, it all depends on the developers. If you always need to stay in touch 100%, you can put WhatsApp to work in the background. You can do this in your phone's settings.

    How do I log out of WhatsApp or disable the app temporarily?

    If you are determined to log out of WhatsApp or turn off the application for a while to save internet traffic or battery power, then you should know two things:

    • Working in the background WhatsApp does not consume traffic until you start using it.
    • Regarding the battery, the application does consume battery, but now the developers are working hard to ensure that the messenger, working in the background, consumes less energy.

    You can sign out of WhatsApp so that no one sees that you are online. You can do this in the settings of the messenger. Just note that if no one sees you online, you won't be able to see others online either. nine0003

    To be sure that you are definitely out of WhatsApp, turn it off in your phone's task manager. Just go into it and stop all processes.

    How to log out of WhatsApp on Android?

    Now let's look at the individual options for different systems. Let's start with how to log out of WhatsApp on Android:

    • The easiest option is to turn off the Internet. Without a network connection, WhatsApp will not work.
    • Disable the option to show your status (online/offline) in the application settings. But then you won't see if your friends are online either. To hide your status and still see everyone else, you can use third-party programs. nine0006
    • Delete WhatsApp. This is the most urgent case. If others do not suit you.

    How to log out of WhatsApp on iPhone?

    Now let's take a closer look at ways to log out of WhatsApp on iPhone:

    • On iOS, you can turn off all notifications altogether. To do this, go to the settings of your phone or tablet.
    • If you do not want to disable everything, you can disconnect one WhatsApp from the network in the application settings on your phone. Then you will not receive messages. Just remember to turn it back on when you want to write to someone yourself. nine0006
    • Delete WhatsApp. Similar instructions for Android.
    • Remove program;
    • Private status. In the WhatsApp privacy settings in the "Status" section, you can disable showing your online to other users.

    How to log out of WhatsApp on a computer?

    The method of how to log out of whatsapp on a computer is to do it from your phone: