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WhatsApp introduces 3 new privacy features, including option to leave groups silently

The new services aim to enhance security

Published: Thu 11 Aug 2022, 8:14 AM

Updated: Thu 11 Aug 2022, 9:49 AM

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The popular messaging service WhatsApp has introduced three new features that aim to enhance privacy and security for users.

"Your privacy deserves more protection," said the Meta-owned platform in a post shared on social media.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, shared the announcement on his Facebook page as well.

"New privacy features coming to WhatsApp: exit group chats without notifying everyone, control who can see when you're online, and prevent screenshots on view once messages. We'll keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations," the post said.

Here is a dive into what each of the new features mean:

1. Exit group chats without notifying anyone

WhatsApp users are no strangers to group chats. The platform is widely used for group texting. With this new feature, WhatsApp aims to give people a quiet way to exit groups, without drawing the attention of other group members.

Previously when a member of a WhatsApp group exits the chat, all members are notified. After the privacy update, only the group admin will be notified of the departure, while the rest of the members remain unaware.

2. Control who can see you when you're online

WhatsApp users will be able to pick the contacts that can see them online. If a user does not want a few (or most) of their contacts to know that they are currently using a platform, they can block them from seeing the 'online' indicator that appears on the chat.

3. Prevent screenshots on 'view-once' messages

View-once messages are texts you can send on WhatsApp that get deleted after they are viewed by the receiver.

With this privacy update, receivers will not be able to take screenshots of videos or photos sent using the view-once feature. Whatsapp says that this new development will be available to users soon.

Earlier this week, WhatsApp announced that users can now delete messages up to 2 days after they are sent - an upgrade from the previous limit. Before the update, users could delete messages for everyone in the chat up to 24 hours after they had been sent. After that, they could only delete messages for themselves but they would still be visible to everyone else in the chat.

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