WhatsApp announced several new privacy updates on Tuesday, including the ability for users to check their messages without other people knowing.
The platform will soon let people control who can see when they’re online, prevent others from taking screenshots of certain messages, and leave groups without notifying entire channels.
WhatsApp has more than two billion users worldwide and is owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta. Announcing the changes to Facebook and Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would “continue to build new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”
WhatsApp has long touted its use of end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and recipient of a message can see its contents. And like other private messaging platforms, it now allows users to send messages that disappear after certain periods of time.
Last year, however, WhatsApp came under heavy scrutiny following an update to its terms of service.
At the time, many users raised concerns about a section of WhatsApp’s privacy policy that described what was shared with parent company Facebook, which has a troubled reputation when it comes to protecting user data.
The update has some people flocking to Signal, another popular encrypted messaging platform.
Facebook tried to dispel confusion about the policy, saying the data-sharing practices were not new and did not “affect the way people communicate privately with friends or family.”
Now, two of the new features being rolled out to WhatsApp — which will let you choose who can see when you’re active and leave groups silently — will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month.
The screenshot blocking tool, which will be available for messages meant to be viewed only once, is still being tested and will be made available later, according to WhatsApp.
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