Whatsapp is one of the most widely used messaging apps on the planet. It boasts millions of daily users that use private or group chats to exchange messages. WhatsApp is a superb and secure communication service since it uses end-to-end encryption. However, there are always security risks with any communication you transmit over the internet, especially when it comes to trusting other people. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could use the same Snapchat function that notifies you when someone screenshots you? With FaceTime and Instagram’s vanishing messages, Apple and Instagram thought so. Is WhatsApp equipped with a similar feature?
You won’t get a notification if someone screenshots your message, unfortunately. Following much controversy, the most recent security patch allowed users to disable chat screenshots. Let’s look at what transpired and why this is the right action.
Read Also: Do Facebook notify users when you screenshot their photos?
Taking Screenshots of Conversations Without Limits
Many people use WhatsApp daily to communicate with friends and family. The application is free; all you need to send and receive messages is a Wi-Fi connection or network access on your phone. In addition, unlike other prominent messaging apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp allows users to screenshot private conversations.
If you wanted to keep your talks private, you had to be careful what you said. Many private WhatsApp discussions go public when someone posts screenshots online. That must have made a lot of people unhappy. There’s a reason these conversations are kept confidential. Some things should be kept hidden from the prying eyes of the general public.
Not everyone that takes these screenshots took not all of the screenshots to make fun of others. Some people want to save great events by taking a screenshot for their collection. Those people are displeased with the new security feature, which prevents all screenshots.
On the other hand, this new security precaution is clever because you won’t have to worry about exposing your secrets to the public. The only option for someone to share your words is to show the chat on their phone. The days of waking up to find your chat messages scattered around the internet are gone.
Security Enhancements
You may now prevent others and yourself from taking screenshots of private discussions with the new security features. It is not, however, enabled by default. To enable this option, you’ll have to go through the settings. People will be able to screenshot your talks if you don’t.
To begin with, Whatsapp should receive a notification upgrade to address the problem. Instagram followed this technique, and the update appears to be working smoothly.
The new feature is presently being tested, but it should be available shortly, and we’ll update this article as soon as it is. It will allow users to set up fingerprint access to give each private discussion an extra layer of security. That means the messages will only be visible to you and the person on the other end of the conversation.
The security feature prevents you from taking screenshots; therefore, you won’t record your chat conversations. Whether or not this feature is made available to all users or is dropped depends on the present split in user feedback.
What Do Users Have to Say?
The new function has many WhatsApp users perplexed. Some people like how it works, preventing them from taking screenshots, while others aren’t satisfied with fingerprint authentication.
Although the fingerprint block option is accessible for iOS users, it hasn’t stopped others from taking screenshots.
What Can I Do to Improve the Security of My Account?
Other people, as previously stated, pose the greatest threat to the security of your account. Don’t email something to someone that you wouldn’t want everyone to see, for example. Yes, you probably have faith in that individual, but what if you disagree? Not to mention the potential legal repercussions of such messages in the event of a mishap.
So, the first step in keeping your correspondence private is to avoid revealing anything you don’t want others to see.
Of course, this isn’t always practicable, so there are other steps you may take to protect your privacy.
You can delete messages.
The ability to regulate your material is one of the best features of Whatsapp. You can retract your message whether the other user has previously opened it or not. Press and hold the message briefly before tapping the trash can symbol.
The message will be deleted if you select the ‘DELETE FOR EVERYONE’ option. Whatsapp will notify the recipient that something has been removed, but they will not know what was taken away.
Blocking People on WhatsApp
You can use the Account and Privacy options on Whatsapp to block people. Take advantage of this option if there is someone with whom you no longer want to interact. Select ‘Blocked’ and enter the contact you want to delete.
Even if you block someone, they can still read your previous communications (not the ones). So for your texts to vanish from the other user’s phone, you’ll still need to erase them all.
Improving security is not enough.
WhatsApp appears to have not given its security patches enough thought. As a result, the new screenshot-blocking feature isn’t working as well as it should, but it’s still in beta. In the end, the app creators are aware of the privacy concerns associated with taking screenshots of discussions and are attempting to resolve them. However, whether Whatsapp will include the fingerprint block functionality in the next official release is unclear.
Have you ever shown a friend a snapshot of a private conversation? What are your thoughts on the updated security features? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.