Meta Founder Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled new privacy updates for WhatsApp, the direct messaging app, on Tuesday. He explained that these changes are part of their efforts to continuously build new ways to protect users’ privacy. The new updates include:
· Members of a group chat will no longer be notified when a user leaves the group – only the admin.
· Users will be able to determine which contacts can see their online status.
· WhatsApp is also testing screenshot-blocking for ‘view once’ messages. This feature was introduced last year, but users were warned that they would not know if the recipient of such a message screenshotted or saved it.
This comes a year after the introduction of a controversial update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy which detailed what user information is shared with Meta, its parent company. This led to users leaving the app in favour of their competitors and the European Commission launching an investigation earlier this year.
Ami Vora, head of product at WhatsApp, said “We believe WhatsApp is the most secure place to have a private conversation. And to spread the word about these new features, we’re 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 advertising campaign, which will include a billboard on Wandsworth Roundabout in southwest London, comes as Meta has faced a growing number of criticisms about how its privacy features could be abused by people seeking to evade law enforcement.