In order to improve users’ experiences with the app, WhatsApp is developing new methods to increase user privacy and security. On Facebook today, Mark Zuckerberg shared a very significant statement regarding three new privacy enhancements coming to the WhatsApp beta for Android, iOS, and desktop users!
Screenshot Blocking
Since it was still possible to snap screenshots and record films for users after the option to share view-once photographs and videos was released last year, many of them expressed their dissatisfaction. We also published a piece explaining why WhatsApp didn’t prohibit screenshots of this function, however that information is now outdated because Mark. Zuckerberg today unveiled a similar tool on Facebook. WhatsApp has developed a very effective screenshot blocking technique in particular as a result of user feedback in order to give an additional layer of privacy while sharing view-only photos and videos.
This sample shows that taking a screenshot of an already-viewed image or video will no longer be an option.
In fact, you may still take screenshots of your discussions right now, even if they contain some fading messages, as the feature to prohibit individuals from taking screenshots and making video grabs is only limited to view-once images and videos. It is always vital to use caution when utilizing this capability; WhatsApp will always warn you when you transmit a see once photo or video that people may still get them by using a secondary phone or camera.
Additionally, since attempting to capture a screenshot of a picture or video would be automatically prevented, there is no system in place to alert the sender when this occurs.
A more precise release date is not yet available, but this is another feature that will be made available to some people soon.
Privacy Updates on WhatsApp
On Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is disclosing crucial information regarding the creation of three new privacy features for WhatsApp: the ability to leave group chats without informing other participants, the ability to choose who can see when you’re online on WhatsApp, and the ability to prevent screenshots of messages that have already been viewed.
Additionally, WhatsApp is now announcing a new global campaign, with the first two countries being India and the United Kingdom (more will follow later), to educate users about new features and how WhatsApp secures their experience by using multiple layers of protections thanks to their privacy features, including end-to-end encryption, two-step verification, end-to-end encrypted chat backup, and more.
Additionally, the main goal of their campaign is to raise awareness of the importance of protecting users not just while information is transferred, but also when it is stored (for example, by using end-to-end encrypted backups).
Past Participants
The feature has really been made available to customers who have updated to WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.17.21 and WhatsApp beta for iOS 22.16.0.77, as we already mentioned last week. You can view a list of everyone who left or was removed from a group in the previous 60 days thanks to previous participants.
As we mentioned in our earlier reports, Mark Zuckerberg also declares that when someone leaves a group chat, all members (aside from group admins) are no longer notified of the event by means of a system message within the chat. Therefore, due to reasons for moderation, only group admins can observe this event, rather than informing the entire group about it.
This feature will soon be available to more users on Android and iOS after being released to a small number of beta testers already.
Who Can See When You Are online
We released information regarding the capability to manage who can see when we’re online on WhatsApp in the article about the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.16.12 upgrade. Mark Zuckerberg has been working on this feature for Android and iOS, and he’s finally announcing it today!
This month, users will begin to receive this feature, so make sure to keep your WhatsApp version up. As usual, we’ll let users know when a compatible build is available.
