WhatsApp's new feature stops others from saving your chat history
What's the story
WhatsApp is working on an advanced privacy feature to make user conversations more secure.
The "advanced chat privacy" option, as it is called, is being tested in the latest beta for iOS and earlier versions for Android, according to WABetaInfo, a reliable source for WhatsApp updates.
It will prevent others from saving chats or exporting full chat histories, giving users more control over message management.
Functionality
How will this feature work?
The new privacy feature, when enabled, will stop media like photos and videos from being automatically saved to the device's gallery.
The capability already exists in chats with disappearing messages and will now be expanded to regular chats.
WhatsApp also plans to disable the option for exporting complete chat histories when this setting is enabled, preventing copying entire conversations and sending them elsewhere.
Sharing
Users can still forward messages
Users will still be able to forward individual messages. This way, they can share specific information if required.
WhatsApp has no intention of introducing screenshot detection for this feature, as users could easily find workarounds like using WhatsApp Web.
The new privacy feature is optional and can be toggled on or off for each personal or group chat separately.
Notifications
WhatsApp will notify users about privacy changes
When a user changes the privacy setting, WhatsApp will issue a system message to notify all members of the chat about the change.
This new capability comes as part of WhatsApp's continued efforts to improve user privacy and security on its platform.
The company has not yet announced when this feature would be available in the stable version of the app.