New privacy features being rolled out this month mean that WhatsApp users can leave group chats silently.
WhatsApp has introduced three new privacy features: Leave Groups Silently, Choose Who Can See When You’re Online, and Screenshot Blocking For View Once Messages.
WhatsApp is keen to remind users that these features are in a long line of steps designed to protect their privacy, which has recently included disappearing messages that self-destruct, end-to-end encrypted backups when users want to save their chat history, 2-step verification, and the ability to block and report unwanted chats.
On the same day as WhatsApp’s new privacy features were announced, competitor Snapchat announced its new ‘Family Centre’ child safety tool, which allows parents to see their children’s friend list and who is communicating with them. Snapchat’s new tool to provide “insights” into teen users’ lives (rather than oversight of them) requires the teen’s account to agree to link up with an account belonging to someone over 25.
Back in May, WhatsApp introduced emojis and the ability to share files within WhatsApp up to 2GB as part of a push by Facebook/Meta to stay at the top of the free encrypted messaging app market and compete with rivals like Snapchat. For example, in January, Snapchat announced a significant update (for iOS) which included improved calling, ‘Chat Replies,’ Bitmoji Reactions (to allow for more expression), and Poll Stickers to enable emoji-powered polls in Snaps and Stories to survey friends. Meta also wants to consolidate and leverage the power of its other popular apps by integrating and making Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram interoperable.
With WhatsApp being one of the end-to-end encrypted apps that have been the target of UK government pressure for ‘back doors’ for monitoring messages to be introduced, along with the Online Safety Bill threatening to weaken encryption, WhatsApp’s made it clear that it won’t be pressured. For example, in a recent BBC interview, WhatsApp’s CEO, Will Cathcart, said that government orders wouldn’t weaken the platform’s security, and these new privacy features are one of the many that WhatsApp has been letting users know that the privacy of the app is non-negotiable in a way that benefits users.
With WhatsApp being Meta-owned, plus under pressure by the government to weaken encryption, as well as having to compete with Snapchat, it’s no surprise that its new features are privacy-based and a way of emphasising to users that it’s not going to compromise on privacy and security. For example, WhatsApp used the same announcement to say, “we’re also kicking off a campaign to educate people about the new features and our continued commitment to protecting your private conversations on WhatsApp.” That said, features such as being able to ‘silently’ leave a group will make using WhatsApp a more comfortable user experience, which is increasingly important to WhatsApp as it tries to continue wooing business users.
