Mark Zuckerberg announces new privacy features for WhatsApp

Meta-owned WhatsApp is now focussing more on protecting users’ messages and keeping them private. To continue its effort to bring more protection to messages, Meta has announced three new privacy features, including the ability to know who can see you online, preventing screenshots for View Once messages, and the ability to leave group chats without notifying anyone.

WhatsApp has been testing the online status for the last few months. We have reported on it, clarifying how it will work. But in case you missed it, the setting will allow users to hide their online status when they are online. You can allow everyone to see your online status when you are online, or you can also select “Same as Last Seen.” The feature was spotted on the WhatsApp iOS app last month.

When WhatsApp introduced View Once messages, one major criticism was that it failed to prevent receivers from taking a screenshot, thus defeating the purpose. But Meta is aware of the issue and is finally addressing it by preventing receivers from taking screenshots for View Once messages.

Lastly, WhatsApp has introduced the ability to leave group chats without notifying anyone but group admins. The Meta-owned company has been testing it for a long, but it is now ready to make it available to the public. We reported on it a few months back, explaining what it can do.

These new privacy features will be available to general users very soon, though the company has given us no details on the timeline of when it will be available. Meanwhile, WhatsApp is now launching a new global campaign in India and the UK to educate users about how they can protect their security and privacy. The Meta-owned chat messenger will launch the global campaign in more countries in the coming days.