As one of the most widely used messaging apps in the world, the makers of WhatsApp have to continually work on keeping the app secure. Whether it was the introduction of end-to-end encrypted chats (andlater backups), orfeatures like Chat Lock, the company has always tried to stay on top of user privacy. The Meta-owned chat app could now be on the verge of adding another privacy-oriented feature into the app, according to a newly surfaced beta release.
10 years of WhatsApp under Meta ownership: Feels like one long day
We’ve seen loads of copy-pasting over the years
WhatsApp currently lets users hide their profile image viaSettings>Privacy>Profile Photo, with detailed options such asEveryone,Nobody,My contacts, and the ability to hide it from selected people in their contacts. However, according to WABetaInfo’sreportingon WhatsApp betav2.24.4.25, the chat app is working on going a step further by restricting other users (including contacts) from taking a screenshot of the Profile picture.
Users will see an error message explaining why screenshots are disabled
MyAndroid phonealso happens to be on version 2.24.4.25 of WhatsApp beta, but I couldn’t replicate the error message, suggesting this feature is part of a limited rollout. As WABetaInfo points out, this built-in safeguard from capturing a screenshot of the profile picture won’t restrict people from using another phone’s camera to snap a quick image. It’s also quite easy right now to save a contact’s display image using WhatsApp Web, so this is an area that the developers will have to look into.
It looks like WhatsApp could be the first among popular IM apps to restrict screenshots of profile images. While Telegram has often been used as the inspiration forWhatsApp feature additions, the former currently doesn’t restrict screenshots of display pictures. In fact, the app even has a dedicatedSave to Gallerybutton accessible via the three-dot menu. However, Telegram allows users to limit who gets to view their profile image fromSettings>Privacy and Security, similar to WhatsApp.
Signal, meanwhile, doesn’t let people save your display pictures directly, but nothing’s stopping them from taking screenshots. The app does have a toggle to limit screenshots on the device, which disallows people with access to your phone from taking a screenshot of the recents list or anywhere inside the app. With these factors in mind, WhatsApp could be ahead of the curve here. But we could be in for a bit of a wait since the feature hasn’t yet made it to beta users of the app.
