WhatsApp for Android Said to Be Testing Advanced Chat Privacy Feature to Limit Message Sharing
The feature may prohibit participants in the same conversation from interacting with Meta AI.
Advertisement
Highlights
- The feature is reported in WhatsApp for Android beta version 2.25.10.4
- It prevents shared media from being auto-saved to the recipient's gallery
- The feature is still in development and not available to beta testers yet
A "Can’t auto-save media" pop up is said to appear if the receipient tries to save media to the gallery
Photo Credit: WhatsApp
WhatsApp is said to be developing a new feature for its Android app which adds another layer of privacy in conversations. According to a feature tracker, the Meta-owned instant messaging platform's Advanced Chat Privacy feature may let users restrict the media they share with others from being automatically saved to the recipient's gallery. It is also said to offer privacy-focussed restrictions such as blocking export of entire chat histories and more potential additions.
WhatsApp's Advanced Chat Privacy Feature for Android
According to WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo, Meta Platforms' instant messaging client is developing the Advanced Chat Privacy feature for release on a future version of the app. It was spotted in WhatsApp Beta for Android app version 2.25.10.4. The feature is said to be optional and can be toggled by navigating to the app's settings. Once it is enabled for the sender, the recipient who receives image or video files in a conversation will not be able to automatically save them to their device's gallery.
Based on screenshots shared by the feature tracker, if the recipient tries to save the media, a Can't auto-save media pop-up will appear with the following description:
“Advanced chat privacy has been turned on, and prevents media auto-saving to your device's gallery.”
Advertisement
Additionally, WABetaInfo suggests that it might offer other privacy-focussed restrictions too. WhatsApp may block the export of chat histories which include messages from users who have activated the Advanced Chat Privacy feature. Additionally, it will prohibit participants in the same conversation from interacting with Meta AI — WhatsApp's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
Notably, a similar feature exists when disappearing messages are enabled in WhatsApp, but this in-development functionality may bring the same level of privacy to standard conversations too.
Advertisement
WABetaInfo claims that this new ability is still in development and is not available even to beta testers registered via the Google Play Beta programme. However, it is to be noted that while the instant messaging platform might be working on several new features for various platforms, not all of them make it to the public release.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.
Advertisement