WhatsApp's New Privacy Features: Block Screenshot, Hide Online Status And More

WhatsApp has started rolling out three new privacy features for its users. Some of these features were highly anticipated by most users and were spotted in the beta versions of the app as well. These features include the ability to block users from taking screenshots of images sent with 'View Once' option, leave a group silently and hide the online status.

New WhatsApp Privacy Features

WhatsApp, the instant messaging platform of Meta, has made an official announcement of these features on Twitter. These features will be rolled out to all users starting this month. Once these features are made available, users will get the ability to block others from taking a screenshot of the 'View Once' images. This means a lot as capturing a screenshot will discard the ultimate point of this feature.

In addition to this, there is another feature that will let users leave a group silently. With this feature, WhatsApp will no longer notify the members of the group that the specific person has left the group. Only the group admins will be notified each time a member leaves the chat.

Lastly, there is a feature that will let users hide their online status. Users can decide who can see their online status similar to the Status, Profile Picture, and Last Seen privacy settings. Users can choose from options such as Contacts, Everyone, and Nobody for online status visibility. With this feature, WhatsApp users can hide their active status from others and maintain their privacy.

Other WhatsApp Features

Besides these new privacy features, WhatsApp has increased the time limit to delete messages up to a little over two days after it was sent. The platform is also rolling out the Communities feature that will help users organize their groups easily. For those who are unaware, this feature is similar to Telegram Channels.

In addition, there is another privacy feature for users to keep hackers at the bay. It is the ability to approve login requests as seen on Instagram and Gmail. Users can choose to accept or reject the login requests from others and protect their personal data.