Mark Zuckerberg isn’t someone many people view as being user privacy-conscious. This is because of the unending privacy backlash his company META (Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram) has gotten accustomed to receiving. This time however, he is treading softly with WhatsApp.
Some new features that made their way to WhatsApp beta for testing prove that the company is brushing up on user privacy. The testing for these features is ongoing for beta users in the UK and India. The new features in this beta testing program are:
- Controlling who gets to see your last seen.
- Added privacy to view once photos.
- Seeing past members of a group chat.
The first feature helps users to streamline who sees their last scene information. Users will be able to select contacts that they don’t want to view their last seen. The second feature solves a big issue for many WhatsApp users.
This issue is regarding “view once” images which give users the ability to send a photo that others can view once. The photo sent isn’t saved to the recipient’s device, but it doesn’t prevent the recipient from taking a screenshot. This defeats the private nature of view once photos.
Thankfully, with a coming update, WhatsApp will prevent recipients from taking a screenshot of a view once photo.
The last feature will enable users to see individuals who were once part of a group chat and when they left the group. This will give new users more information as to the nature of the group they are joining.
All three new privacy features from Mark Zuckerberg owned WhatsApp will be available once the test is complete. Global users will receive the new features via an app update on the Google Play Store or the App Store. Online privacy is a necessity for everyone, and it is good to see top applications integrate more privacy features into their services.