WhatsApp will now let you hide your ‘online’ and ‘last online’ status from specific contacts
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Featured Image Credit: PSL Images / Alamy. Tero Vesalainen / Alamy.
If you've ever wanted to be invisible to certain people on WhatsApp then we've got some news for you.
The messaging app that is owned by Meta has been busily working behind the scenes to ensure users are afforded as much security as possible when they communicate.
The popular app has been teasing a new security campaign for months and Head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, has finally unveiled it.
"We’re expanding the marketing campaign we started back in January to tell people in the US about the importance of end-to-end encryption," he said.
"5.5 billion SMS messages are still sent daily in the US but SMS messages aren’t secure.”
Well, prepare to have the power to beef up your phone to the max.
We believe ‘almost’ private isn’t good enough. Earlier this year, there was an attempt to stop our privacy ads.
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) October 13, 2022
In the U.S. over 5.5 billion SMS are sent each day and none are protected by end-to-end encryption.
Sending an SMS is just like sending an open piece of mail.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg added in a Facebook post: “WhatsApp is far more private and secure than iMessage, with end-to-end encryption that works across both iPhones and Android, including group chats.
"With WhatsApp, you can also set all new chats to disappear with the tap of a button. And last year, we introduced end-to-end encrypted backups, too—all of which iMessage still doesn’t have."
Seems like someone is trying to outdo Apple.
Regardless of Zuckerberg's apparent beef with Apple, new privacy features mean better security for app users. The power is in your hands. Or, more accurately, on your phone.
WhatsApp has revealed that you'll soon have the ability to leave groups silently, hide your online status from certain people, or hide it from absolutely everyone.
That's on top of beefed-up encryption.
A WhatsApp statement said: "For the moments you want to keep your online presence private, we’re introducing the ability to select who can and can’t see when you’re online."
Giving someone the digital silent treatment just got so much easier.
Were you up all night sending messages and don't want a certain someone to see you were last online at 5:34m?
Well, why don't you Houdini the hell out of there without making a scene.
But here's the coup de grace. There's another major update that is perfect for when you want to send something - ahem - a little more risqué.
"View Once is already an incredibly popular way to share photos or media that don’t need to have a permanent digital record," the media statement said.
"Now we’re enabling screenshot blocking for View Once messages for an added layer of protection."
Finally, we can rest easy knowing our nudes aren't being screencapped by that weird Tinder date you may have gotten hot and heavy with over text messages.
Also, stop judging, we've all been there.
WhatsApp will continue to roll out updates and new features in the coming months.
Topics: Technology, News, Social Media, US News, WhatsApp
