Users of WhatsApp now have new privacy protections thanks to Meta. Users will have the choice of restricting screenshots on ‘Observe Once’ messages, leaving group chats in silence, and choosing who can see their online status.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, this will maintain WhatsApp communication “as secure and confidential as face-to-face talks.”
These features will begin to be made available this month, and a global campaign to promote them will get underway in the UK.
The well-known messaging app now automatically tells everyone in a group discussion when someone joins or leaves.
However, users are not given the opportunity to leave silently when they “exit group,” which can cause awkwardness, humiliation, or drama for those trying to do so. This can be prevented for individual group chats, but when individuals want to “exit group,” it is not an option.
Owing to recent changes, users can now leave group conversations without informing the other users – only the group admins will be alerted.
According to product leader Ami Vora, the platform places a strong emphasis on “creating product capabilities that empower users to acquire more security and authority over their messages.”
She argued that WhatsApp was the safest medium for confidential communication.
This level of safety is not provided by any other significant international messaging service for the messages, voicemails, video calls, media, and chat backups of its users.
The update will also offer individuals the ability to synchronise their online status selections with “last seen” alternatives by letting them decide who can see when they are online – just certain contacts or everyone.
As per Janis Wong, research associate at The Alan Turing Institute, “Users enjoy, and need, more control,” which she stated to BBC News, “it’s always wonderful to give people more power.”
However, she issued a warning that their influence might be restricted unless users were encouraged to use the capabilities or made completely informed of them in the app.
She stated, “It’s not necessarily especially effective if it’s not default or if individuals aren’t encouraged to analyse their options if customers are ignorant that this is an alternative.”
