Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, is reportedly gearing up to roll out additional privacy protections for WhatsApp users. The aim? To prevent WhatsApp Users from taking screenshots of your profile picture on the platform. Recent information about this feature surfaced in the latest beta version of WhatsApp for the Android platform, as discovered by WABetaInfo.
This feature is said to be integrated into the Privacy section of the Settings menu, as reported by tomsguide. During testing with the new blocking tool, attempts to take screenshots of profile pictures were unsuccessful, with a notification appearing at the bottom of the screen stating that app restrictions prevented the screenshot.
The report also noted that WhatsApp had previously introduced an option to prevent users from saving “other people’s profile pictures” about five years ago. While this step was taken to prevent malicious actors from sharing images without the owner’s permission, users could still take screenshots without any hindrance.
Therefore, a more proactive step to directly block the ability to take screenshots is believed to strengthen the “concept of privacy and user consent” in the WhatsApp service. This may be an effort to prevent the misuse of users’ photos for fraudulent activities, impersonation, or harassment.
Screenshots Restriction Feature is Already Asked by WhatsApp Users in 2021
An interesting post on Medium by writer Bilge Tekin in 2021 proposed the concept of a screenshot restriction feature for WhatsApp, which included the idea of preventing screenshots within chat rooms. When this idea was tested by some individuals, there seemed to be support for an option that limits others from sharing private conversations.
While there is no scientific backing or official research from Meta or polls, these steps could provide a competitive advantage for WhatsApp by appealing to users who prioritize privacy. So far, Telegram and Signal do not have similar features. Additionally, having this option may be seen as a positive step towards enhancing users’ security and privacy overall.
For those interested in trying out this new feature, the first step is to join the Google Beta Program and install the beta version of WhatsApp. While this update may not be available to all users yet as it is limited to some groups, WABetaInfo assures that the update will be rolled out to more users in the coming weeks.
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