The Meta-owned WhatsApp has introduced three new features – users will now be able to leave group messages without notifying everyone; they can choose who can see when they are online and prevent screenshots on ‘View Once’ messages.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new privacy features would help keep WhatsApp messaging “as private and secure as face-to-face conversations”.
“We’ll keep building new ways to protect your messages,” Zuckerberg added in a statement.
The company will begin rolling out the features this month, starting in the UK.
The new features include:
- Leave groups silently: The silent leaving of group feature will enable users to be able to exit a group privately without having to notify everyone. Only the admins will be notified that a member has left the group and the feature has started to roll out for all users and will be gradually available to all users this month.
- Choose who can see when you’re online: Users will now be able to check their WhatsApp without informing others that they are online. For moments when they want to keep their online presence private, WhatsApp is introducing the ability to select who can and can’t see when a user is online.
- Screenshot blocking for View Once messages: Last year, WhatsApp introduced View Once features, which has become a very popular way to share photos or media that don’t need to have a permanent digital record. WhatsApp is now enabling screenshot blocking for View Once messages for an added layer of protection.
According to a recent WhatsApp privacy study, 51 percent of respondents prefer to stay hidden online to choose who they want to talk to and 91 percent of people who are aware of blocking features believe they are important.
Ami Vora, WhatsApp Head of Product, said: “Our focus in on building product features that empower people to have more control and privacy over their messages. No other global messaging service at this scale provides this level of security for its users’ messages, media, voice messages, video calls, and chat backups. We believe WhatsApp is the most secure place to have a private conversation.
“And to spread the word about these new features, we are also kicking off a global campaign, starting with the UK and India, to educate people about how we work to protect their private conversations on WhatsApp.”
The instant messaging service will also let people delete a message days after it has been sent after increasing the time limit to remove a message to a little over two days, compared to the current 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds.
In a tweet, WhatsApp said: “Rethinking your message? Now you’ll have a little over 2 days to delete your messages from your chats after you hit send.”
Personal calls and messages on WhatsApp are protected with default end-to-end encryption, and over the years, it has continued to add features like disappearing messages that self-destruct, end-to-end encrypted backups when you want to save your chat history, two-step verification for added security and the ability to block and report unwanted chats.
New safety feature on Snap
Snap also announced new features for instant image-sharing, as well as updates to the messaging app Snapchat.
On Tuesday, the company launched a Family Centre, which builds on child safety measures by allowing parents to have more control of their child’s experience on the app. Parents will be able to see who their child’s friends are and who they are chatting to through Family Centre tools, but won’t be able to view message content.
Jacqueline Beauchere, global head of platform safety, said: “For parents, we know understanding how their teens are interacting online is important. We hope these tools will empower both parents and teens, and boost online safety and wellbeing.”
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