WhatsApp Introduces New, Sophisticated Chat Security Features
WhatsApp is developing a sophisticated chat privacy feature to restrict message sharing and provide user chats an additional degree of privacy.
New Feature Release Date
Citing the most recent WhatsApp beta for Android 2.25.10.14 update, which is accessible on the Google Play Store, WABetaInfo stated that this new functionality will be released in a future version.
Privacy Feature
The new advanced chat privacy feature of the well-known instant messaging service owned by Meta will let users prevent media from being automatically saved to the device gallery.
It’s important to note that WhatsApp appears to be expanding this restriction to users who will select the optional advanced conversation privacy feature in the future. It already applies to chats containing vanishing messages.
This feature will provide a number of privacy safeguards, such as limitations on exporting full chat histories. WhatsApp will also be able to stop exporting chat histories that contain messages from users who have enabled this feature, protecting private conversations and preventing unauthorized data transfers.
To keep the feature usable, it won’t stop messages from being forwarded. Furthermore, chat participants will not be able to communicate with Meta AI in any form if advanced chat privacy is enabled.
WhatsApp Advanced Chat Privacy Features Still in Early Development
Only these features are now available in the advanced chat privacy functionality. However, given that it is still in its early stages of development, WhatsApp may one day add more functionality based on user input and additional testing.
Why WhatsApp Isn’t Adding Screenshot Detection
There is no sign that WhatsApp is implementing a feature to recognize screenshots in order to stop people from taking screenshots of conversations.
Because users might still get around it by capturing their screens with WhatsApp Web or other external tools, snapshot detection was probably left out.
The lack of built-in safeguards against screenshots in web clients, in contrast to mobile apps, makes it challenging to impose a useful restriction without users discovering other ways to take screenshots.
Adding screenshot detection to conversations would also be pointless because users may still forward messages using this feature, which would still allow them to be shared.
Furthermore, it is crucial to remember that when the user disables this optional privacy feature, any actions that are prohibited by it will remain enabled.
