WhatsApp is trialing a new “advanced chat privacy” feature that allows users to control whether others can export their chats or automatically save media sent to them. Reports from WABetaInfo indicate that this option recently appeared in a beta version of the app for iOS and was also spotted in an Android beta.
This advanced privacy toggle can be accessed in the settings for both individual and group chats. When activated, it prevents other users from exporting the entire chat history outside of WhatsApp and stops images and videos from being automatically saved to device galleries. It’s unclear if users will still have the option to manually save media, as Meta’s description in WABetaInfo’s screenshots does not provide this detail.
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In group chats, all participants will be notified if the advanced privacy setting is enabled. The toggle also appears to disable Meta AI features, which can assist in chats by answering questions or generating images.
While this new option prevents the export of complete chats, users can still forward individual messages or take screenshots, making it more challenging to retain chat histories but not impossible. For added privacy, users can also utilize WhatsApp’s existing disappearing messages feature, which can be set to delete after a specified time. Currently, the advanced chat privacy setting is only available in beta, with no timeline for a wider release.
SOURCE: THE VERGE
