WhatsApp Beta Tests Major Privacy Upgrade; What Will No Longer Be Shareable?

WhatsApp is developing a new advanced chat privacy feature designed to give users greater control over how their conversations and media are shared. The feature is currently being tested in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android, version 2.25.10.14, available on the Google Play Store, according to a report by WABetaInfo.

The upcoming privacy feature adds a control system which stops recipients from automatically saving media content like images and videos onto their device gallery.  WhatsApp users can now protect media files from automatic storage on recipients’ devices by manually activating an improved privacy setting.

Administrators can prevent users who have enabled advanced chat privacy from distributing their entire chat logs by implementing the latest update.  The objective of this feature is to reduce the likelihood of unauthorised data transfers and to secure private conversations.  In order to safeguard the app’s functionality, the organisation preserved message forwarding.

Users are restricted in their ability to interact with Meta AI by the privacy settings they choose.  Users who enable advanced chat privacy in their conversations will prevent participants from accessing Meta AI features contained in those discussions.

There are no indications that WhatsApp will incorporate screenshot detection as a feature for conversation viewing, according to the most recent reports.  Users would still be able to record conversations through WhatsApp Web or other alternative tools, rendering such functionality seemingly useless.  Blocking screenshots is ineffective because users can still share messages without screenshots being detected by forwarding them.

The advanced chat privacy feature will be optional and configurable on a per-chat basis. Either participant in a conversation can activate or deactivate it via the chat info screen. Once enabled by one party, the restrictions apply to both users in that chat. Disabling the feature will notify all participants of the change.

As this new privacy tool is still in early stages of development, further updates or expanded functionalities may be added based on user feedback and ongoing testing. WhatsApp has not yet announced an official release date, but the feature is expected to be rolled out in a future update.