New privacy features
for WhatsApp users have been introduced by Meta.
Users will get the
option to select who can view their online status, leave group discussions in
silence, and block screenshots on View Once messages.
This will help keep WhatsApp chat "as private and secure as face-to-face talks," according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This month, the
features will start to be released, and a worldwide campaign will be launched,
beginning in the UK, to showcase them.
Currently, when someone leaves or is removed from a group chat, the well-known messaging software automatically notifies all other participants.
While it is possible
to prevent this for specific group conversations, when users choose to
"exit group," they are not given the option to depart quietly, which
can lead to awkwardness, embarrassment, or drama for those attempting to leave
unobserved.
Users will now be able to exit group chats without telling the other participants—only the group administrators will be informed—thanks to recent adjustments.
The platform's emphasis on "developing product features that empower users to have more control and privacy over their messages," according to product head Ami Vora, is part of this.
She asserted that
WhatsApp was the most secure platform for private communication.
No other large-scale worldwide messaging service offers this level of protection for the messages, media, voice messages, video calls, and chat backups of its customers.
The upgrade will also provide users the opportunity to align their online status options with "last seen" settings by giving them the choice of letting just specific contacts—or no one—see when they are active on the network.
It's always wonderful to give people more control, according to Janis Wong, research associate at The Alan Turing Institute, who told BBC News: "Users enjoy, and need, more control."
However, she cautioned, their influence might be limited unless users were encouraged to use the features or made fully aware of them in the app.
If consumers are unaware that this is an option, she continued, "it's not necessarily particularly useful if it's not default or if users aren't prompted to evaluate their decisions."
Along with upgrades to
the messaging app Snapchat, Snap-on Tuesday also unveiled new fast
image-sharing app features.
The business has introduced a Family Centre that expands on kid safety precautions by enabling parents to monitor their child's use of the app to a greater extent.
This won't go into effect, though, unless both parents and Snapchat users accept invitations to the supervisory hub.
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Parents can use the Family Centre capabilities to see who their child is chatting and friends with, but they cannot access the content of messages.
The Family Center,
according to Jacqueline Beauchere, global head of platform safety at Snapchat,
intends to give parents "a window into their teen's online life."
"Parents realize it's crucial to understand how their teens are communicating online," she said. "We expect that these tools will strengthen parental and teen authority and improve online safety and welfare."
Parents can independently report Snapchat users who communicate with their children or exhibit troubling behavior through the in-app Family Centre.
Teen users will be able to alert parents of any accounts or content they have reported starting in the fall.
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