The team at the popular messenger WhatsApp is working on a new feature designed to improve user security and privacy. Amid the ongoing scandal surrounding WhatsApp’s new privacy rules, the new feature has drawn public mockery.
WABetaInfo website drew attention to the development of a new function. We are talking about disappearing photos and images that can be sent in the versions of the messenger for Android and iOS.
Such photos cannot be exported or copied from the chat. However, there is no function for detecting attempts to take screenshots. The feature is not yet available to users and the exact release dates have not been named.
The new attempt to increase privacy amid the new rules that users need to adopt on March 15th caused a lot of mockeries. Members of the community of developers XDA Developers called the feature “as useless as disappearing messages”.
Disappearing WhatsApp messages became available to everyone in November 2020. The messenger does not interfere in any way with taking screenshots and does not even warn the sender about such attempts. According to XDA Developers, this makes the feature completely useless.
Whatsapp: you will not be able to read or send messages if you disagree with the new rules
If you cancel the new terms after May 15, then for several weeks you can still receive calls and notifications; but you will not be able to read or send messages from the application.
It is not yet clear what will happen after that; but WhatsApp has a new policy for deleting accounts that have been inactive for 120 days. This rule is likely to apply to accounts whose users do not agree with the new requirements.
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WhatsApp has been sharing metadata with Facebook for years, and the only new information the messenger will now send is payment and transaction data to help Facebook better target ads for you across its various services.
Back in January, WhatsApp sparked a strong reaction after announcing that it would require users to agree to the new rules. Users began to switch to other services, including Telegram. Initially, the changes were supposed to take effect on February 8; but then the deadline for the adoption of the new rules was postponed until May 15.
Telegram now supports transferring history from WhatsApp and other messengers
A couple of days ago, the Telegram team accidentally launched and quickly pulled a significant update of the messenger for iOS. The official release of Telegram 7.4 for Android and iOS has now taken place.
In honor of the launch, the developers also boasted of another achievement. In January, 100 million new users began using the messenger.
The main innovation of Telegram 7.4 was a very useful feature – transferring history from other messengers. You can transfer messages, photos, videos and documents from other applications to Telegram – for example, WhatsApp, Line and KakaoTalk. This works with both private chats and groups.
To transfer a chat from WhatsApp for iOS, just open a page with information about a contact or group; then click “Export chat” and select Telegram from the “Share” menu. On Android devices, inside the WhatsApp chat, you must click “the three dots icon > More> Export Chat, then choose Telegram from the Share menu.
