Meta has on Tuesday, announced the introduction of 3 privacy tweaks into its messaging app, WhatsApp, to “provide even more layers of protection”, for its users around the world,
It made the announcement in a blog post published on its website, stating that the new feature is to give its users more control over their conversations on the app.
WhatsApp will now allow its users to leave group chats without alerting members within such groups.
The blog post said: “We love our group chats, but some are not forever. We are making it possible to exit a group privately, without making it a big deal to everyone. Now, instead of notifying the full group when you are leaving, only the Admins will be notified. This feature will start to roll out to all users this month.”
It will also disable making a screenshot on messages set to delete after it has been read or viewed once. The view once feature which was rolled out last year August, will now have an added layer of privacy.
It stated: “Now we are enabling screenshot blocking for View Once messages, for an added layer of protection. We are testing this feature now, and are excited to roll it out to users soon.”
The last privacy feature will allow users to control who can see them when they are online, a feature that will roll out to users this month.
Meta added: “For the moments that you want to keep your online presence private, we are introducing the ability to select who can and cannot see when you are online.”
Speaking, Meta’s Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote about the new features on his Facebook, and promised privacy and protection for all WhatsApp users.
His exact words: “New privacy features coming to WhatsApp: exit group chats without notifying everyone, control who can see when you are online, and prevent screenshots on view once messages. We will keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”