WhatsApp to Allow Silencing Unknown Callers, Preventing Spam

WhatsApp will soon allow users to silence calls from unknown numbers, preventing them from being ambushed by spam calls, which often turn out to be from fraudsters.

The feature, reportedly called The Silence Unknown Callers, is under development by the company. It was spotted by WABetaInfo in the app's latest beta release for Android.

The feature lets users silence calls from unknown numbers by notifying them silently in the calls tab and notification center. This feature will help prevent spam and unnecessary disruptions.

WhatsApp users have reported being bombarded by calls from unknown numbers ever since the Meta-owned platform introduced WhatsApp Community, a feature that allows group admins to bring multiple WhatsApp Groups under one tab for convenience.

However, while the groups remain segregated even under a community, it gives everyone access to each other's phone numbers, allowing anyone to call others even if they don't have their contact saved.

To tackle this issue with communities, WhatsApp is reportedly testing a feature where users can choose to silence calls from unknown numbers from the Settings section. This feature could also help prevent scam calls, pranks, and harassing calls.

Reports claim around 95% of WhatsApp users have received spam calls despite having their number registered on the Do Not Disturb registry. Ironically, about 93 million phone numbers registered in the DND portal were reported to have been sold on the dark web.

Spam calls from unknown numbers have also led to people getting tricked into sharing sensitive information, such as banking and credit card details. Fraudsters routinely call victims using WhatsApp due to its secure nature.