Watch out for sneaky WhatsApp trick – your pals can easily fool you with it

WHATSAPP is adding a "stealth mode" that lets you use the app without being seen.

Your mates could use it to avoid you – so if everyone suddenly appears offline on WhatsApp, that might be why.

Right now it's impossible to hide the fact that you're online.

All you can do is conceal your "Last Seen" status.

Earlier this month, Meta and WhatsApp boss Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that it would soon be possible to hide your online status.

And now the sleuths at have revealed that it's now in development on the desktop app too, as well as for iPhone and Android.

The WhatsApp "stealth mode" lets you choose who can see that you're online.

"Seeing when friends or family are online helps us feel connected to one another," said WhatsApp.

"But we’ve all had times when we wanted to check our WhatsApp privately.

"For the times you want to keep your online presence private, we’re introducing the ability to select who can and can’t see when you’re online."

This feature is also rolling out starting this month.

The new feature will be available in Settings > Privacy > Last Seen & Online.

WhatsApp has been criticised in the past for not allowing users to hide their online statuses on the app.

"There may be different reasons why people want to use WhatsApp in stealth mode," said WABetaInfo.