WhatsApp Web Privacy Blur Settings Explained
Check all 11 WhatsApp Privacy Boolean settings plus the 1–40 px blur amount, with defaults, verified effects, interactions, and explicit limits.
On This Page
WhatsApp Privacy currently stores 11 Boolean settings plus one numeric blurAmount. The default blur amount is 8 px; numeric input is rounded and clamped to 1–40 px. The master switch, item hover reveal, no-delay behavior, message previews, and open-chat messages default to on. Avatars, names, media previews, media gallery, typed text, and whole-app reveal default to off.
One implementation boundary matters: the UI describes hoverReveal as revealing an item under the pointer, but the current runtime only clearly uses that field to gate unblurActive. The per-surface CSS still contains its own :hover reveal rules, with no verified independent runtime wiring from hoverReveal. This reference separates the intended label from verified behavior instead of promising that turning the field off disables every item hover.
Disclosure and evidence date: Web Tidy publishes this reference and makes WhatsApp Privacy. Product claims below come from the current SKU 7 model, copy, storage adapter, style manifest, and content runtime checked on 2026-08-31. Market terminology was checked against two same-intent search results and one separate original project page. No real WhatsApp login, chat capture, competitor installation, account change, or publication action was performed.
Settings at a glance
These are local presentation settings for https://web.whatsapp.com/*. They are not encryption, account access control, permanent redaction, operating-system notification suppression, or screenshot prevention.
Complete field dictionary
The field dictionary is deliberately narrower than competitor feature lists. Password lock, idle lock, panic shortcuts, chat allow-lists, solid redaction, Telegram support, per-surface blur strength, message direction, and “last N messages” are not current SKU 7 settings.
Default settings template
{
"enabled": true,
"hoverReveal": true,
"noDelay": true,
"messagesPreview": true,
"profilePictures": false,
"names": false,
"messages": true,
"mediaPreview": false,
"mediaGallery": false,
"textInput": false,
"unblurActive": false,
"blurAmount": 8
}This anonymous JSON example contains no account, contact, message, or media data. The current storage key is whatsapp:features.blur-privacy.settings; settings are normalized before save and after load.
How the settings interact
The practical distinction is between item hover, whole-app hover, and transition timing. They must be tested separately. A result from one does not prove the others.
Three anonymous setup examples
Chat-list preview only
Keep enabled=true, enable messagesPreview, and add names or profilePictures only when those surfaces are part of the risk. Turn off unneeded open-chat surfaces. Scroll through a synthetic or non-sensitive list and record item-hover behavior separately because the hoverReveal gap remains open.
Open messages and media
Enable messages and mediaPreview; enable mediaGallery only if the gallery or viewer will be opened. These are separate modules. Turning on messages alone does not prove that inline media or the gallery is protected.
Typed text during a recording
Enable textInput and rehearse with fictional text. This changes the input’s visual treatment; it does not prevent sending or erase the draft. Also suppress system notifications and verify the recording region, because the extension does not control either layer.
Verify a settings change
- Open WhatsApp Web in the same Chrome profile as the extension.
- Change one setting at a time and use fictional contacts and messages.
- Make sure the target surface exists before interpreting a missing selector.
- Verify the blur, normalized amount, and saved value after refresh.
- Test item hover and whole-app body hover separately.
- Treat a missing root or hard style failure as a recovery condition; increasing
blurAmountcannot repair a stale selector.
The accepted result is specific: the target surface exists, its module is active, the amount normalizes correctly, the setting survives refresh, and item versus whole-app reveal behavior is recorded separately.
Privacy and permission limits
The verified product scope is storage plus https://web.whatsapp.com/*. Storage is used for the settings object; it is not evidence that chat text is stored. Visual blur can still fail to protect content after a reveal, a selector mismatch, an operating-system notification, another window, a screenshot, or a camera capture.
Search results are useful for market vocabulary, but the reviewed pages also describe features outside SKU 7, including password or idle locks, shortcuts, allow-lists, Telegram, directional/last-N message controls, and per-element strength. Those features were excluded rather than copied into this reference.
Frequently asked questions
How many settings are there?
There are 11 Boolean fields plus numeric blurAmount, for 12 stored fields in the current model.
Can blur amount be 0 or greater than 40?
Not after normalization. Numeric input is rounded and clamped to 1–40. Blank or non-finite input falls back instead of becoming an invalid final value.
Does turning off hoverReveal disable every item hover?
The current source does not support that promise. It clearly prevents the whole-app unblurActive module from activating, but independent wiring to remove the per-surface CSS :hover rules was not found. Test the current build and treat this as needs_recheck.
Does noDelay increase blur strength?
No. It installs a timing module. blurAmount controls the shared blur strength.
Are message previews and messages the same surface?
No. messagesPreview targets the chat list; messages targets the open conversation.
Do these settings encrypt chats or prevent screenshots?
No. They change browser presentation, not WhatsApp encryption, account permissions, or external capture.
Are chats stored with the settings?
The current storage adapter saves the settings object. The reviewed runtime does not support a claim that chat text, contacts, or media are stored by this feature.