In this article I will walk you through quickly and easily how to disable message preview on WhatsApp on both iPhone and Android.
But that’s not it.
Actually, I’m not only going to show you step-by-step directions, I’m also going to share with you a trick – which I’m sure you’ll find super convenient – to increase your privacy level and make sure that only you can access the WhatsApp messages you receive.
Thus, even if someone else has your phone in their hands, they will neither be able to preview the received WhatsApp messages nor access them.
Before we start, let me introduce myself.
I’m Frankie Caruso and I’m an instant messaging app enthusiast and tester. If you’d like to know more about me and my story I’ll leave you the link to the bio.
But back to us.
Turn off WhatsApp message preview in the notification panel or lock screen of your phone is very simple.
And it doesn’t matter what your motivation is: whether because you have something to hide or just because you are obsessed with privacy.
All you have to do is get yourself comfy and take a few minutes to follow this guide.
Enough wasting time, let’s get started.
In short:
- Disable WhatsApp preview will allow you to stop displaying messages received on WhatsApp in your smartphone’s homescreen.
- iPhone: open WhatsApp > Settings > Notifications > disable the toggle next to Show Previews (or alternatively disable Show Notifications)
- On Android you have to operate on both WhatsApp and phone settings.
- On WhatsApp: Settings > Notifications > set Popup notification to No popup > next disable the toggle next to Use high priority notifications
- On Smartphone: Settings > Notifications > WhatsApp > toggle off Show notifications under Chats section
Frankie’s Take:
If you happen to be doing this to cover your tracks and hide some transgressions (hopefully not) I would suggest you check out a different article I’ve written about how to keep from getting caught cheating using WhatsApp.
How to hide message preview on WhatsApp on iPhone
Let’s begin with the iPhone.
If you have an iPhone, you’re in luck. In fact, the procedure to disable WhatsApp message preview on lock screen is incredibly simple.
To turn off WhatsApp message previews on your iPhone, you need to follow these steps:
- First, get your phone and unlock it
- On the home screen, click on WhatsApp
- Now, tap Settings, found in the bottom right of this new screen
- Then, choose Notifications and move the Show Preview toggle to OFF
If you do this, you will still get notifications about a new message getting delivered to your account, but instead of a literal preview of the text, the banner will read Message instead.
If you want to remedy this, then you can simply disable notification previews completely by going to WhatsApp > Setting > Notifications > move the Show Notifications toggle to OFF.
This way you will no longer see any notifications, even if your iPhone screen is locked.
If you have any second thoughts about this decision, you can turn the message previews back on through the Settings > Notifications and switching Show Preview toggle back to ON.
If you just want a faster route for this same result, you can choose to Reset Notifications Settings found at the bottom of this screen. This restores default settings for the app’s alerts.
You will have to confirm this requested task by clicking on the word Reset again.
How to disable message preview on WhatsApp on Android
Let’s jump to Android.
Unlike Apple devices there is an extra step to follow here.
But no worries, it’s just a matter of a few seconds and mostly nothing complicated, I promise 😁
To turn off WhatsApp message preview on Android you will need to change some settings both inside the WhatsApp app and on your phone settings.
Note: this is applicable to any Android smartphone and thus: Samsung, Google Pixel, Xiaomi, Oppo etc.
Let’s proceed in order.
We start with WhatsApp settings.
The first step to take is to unlock your smartphone and access the app drawer (the screen where all of the icons for your installed apps are grouped). You can then click on the WhatsApp icon to open this application.
Here is what you want to do:
1. First, tap on the three vertical dots found in the top right corner. Next, click on Settings and once a menu appears.
2. Click on Notifications
3. Under the Messages section click on Popup notification and select No Popup. Finally disable the toggle next to Use high priority notifications
This will get rid of the annoying popup that appears every time you receive a message. However, messages will still be visible in the notification center.
To fix this issue you will need to operate on your phone’s settings.
Follow these steps:
4. Take out your smartphone and access the app drawer (a screen on your device that groups all apps together) and then choose Settings (gear icon)
5. From this screen you can click on the subheading Notifications, where you will find WhatsApp on the list that appears
6. Now under the Chats section uncheck Show notifications
Awesome!!! You now have disable WhatsApp message preview on lock screen.
Should you have had second thoughts and want to re-enable WhatsApp message preview, all you have to do is go through the entire procedure shown above and turn the toggle to ON.
BONUS: Enable WhatApp’s ‘Screen Lock’ feature to boost your privacy
This trick will bring privacy on your phone to the next level.
Let’s say someone has your smartphone and you don’t want them to access WhatsApp in any way to snoop through your chats. By enabling Screen Lock mode you will prevent them from accessing WhatsApp.
Let me elaborate.
With it enabled, either your fingerprint or face (with Face ID on an iPhone) is required to open WhatsApp.
Super cool!
To enable the Screen Lock feature follow these steps.
On both iPhone and Android you will need to:
- Open the WhatsApp app
- Head over to Settings (on Android tap on the three vertical dots and then Settings)
- Tap on Account
- Next click on Privacy and then tap on Screen Lock on iPhone or Fingerprint lock on Android.
- Among the many options select Immediately
This way to open WhatsApp it will require your Face ID or fingerprint.
Just BRILLIANT!
Frankie’s take: I invite you to take a look at my guide on how to block WhatsApp with a password. There you will find alternative methods to this one to increase the security level of your WhatsApp chats.
FAQ
Will my WhatsApp contacts know that I have disabled message preview?
The answer is no.
These are local settings on your phone, and no one – besides you – will know that you have turn off message preview.
Is it possible to hide WhatsApp message preview from WhatsApp Web on Pc?
The answer is yes.
You can also disable message preview from WhatsApp Web on your pc or tablet.
To do so, follow these directions.
Connect to WhatsApp Web, now, click the three vertical dots button placed in the top right of the WhatsApp screen.
Select Settings > Notifications > untick Show Preview.
It really is that simple.
Now, instead of getting actual message previews, you will have a running total of messages you get alerted to in this format: N New Message/s (N in this equation gets replaced by the actual number of alerts).
Conclusion
Okay, we reached the end of this tutorial.
I hope you found the information provided helpful. For me it is very fulfilling to be able to help you out.
Just to recap, it is possible to hide the preview of WhatsApp messages. The process is simple and will increase your privacy level and avoid suspicion and subsequent trouble if you are actually trying to hide things.
That’s all I have for today.
If you have any doubts or questions, you should not hesitate to leave me a comment and I can respond as soon as possible.
Love,
Frankie Caruso
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