WHATSAPP: New privacy features are announced by Mark Zuckerberg.

 New privacy features for WhatsApp users have been introduced by Meta. Users may now restrict screenshots on View Once messages, manage who can see their online status, and leave group chats quietly.

This will help keep WhatsApp chat "as private and secure as face-to-face talks," according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

It will start implementing the features this month and will showcase them in a worldwide campaign that will start in the UK.

LEAVE SILENTLY 

The well-known messaging software now notifies all participants in a group conversation when someone leaves or is deleted by default.

While it is possible to prevent this for specific group conversations, when users choose to "exit group," they are not given the option to depart quietly, which can lead to awkwardness, embarrassment, or drama for those attempting to leave unobserved.

Users will now be able to exit group chats without telling the other participants—only the group administrators will be informed—thanks to recent adjustments.

The platform's emphasis on "developing product features that empower users to have more control and privacy over their messages," according to product head Ami Vora, is part of this.

She asserted that WhatsApp was the most secure platform for private communication.

No other large-scale worldwide messaging service offers this level of protection for the messages, media, voice messages, video calls, and chat backups of its customers.

The upgrade will also provide users the opportunity to align their online status options with "last seen" settings by giving them the choice of letting just specific contacts—or no one—see when they are active on the network.

The Alan Turing Institute research associate Janis Wong told BBC News: "It's always desirable to give users more power - users like, and need, more control."

However, she cautioned, their influence might be limited unless users were encouraged to use the features or made fully aware of them in the app.

If consumers are unaware that they have this option, she continued, "If it does not default, or if users are not reminded to review their decisions, then it's not necessarily very useful."