WhatsApp is seriously tackling spam: the instant messaging service will soon offer a filter to prevent you from receiving too many unwanted messages from strangers. An excellent initiative!
WhatsApp continues to add new security features to maintain the trust of its users. Fully encrypted, the instant messaging service already offers many options to ensure the confidentiality of exchanges, such as ephemeral messages, the ability to block screenshots for certain messages, sending ephemeral voice messages, Chat Lock mode – which allows you to hide certain conversations and lock access to them –, hidden online presence and a mute function to automatically filter unknown numbers and even a contextual card to provide essential information about the group creator (see our article).
This time, Meta is tackling the management of spam messages, which can contain dangerous scams. Indeed, the specialized site WABetaInfo discovered in the beta version 2.24.20.16 of the app on Android that Meta would allow users to automatically block messages from unknown contacts if they send too many to the user, within a limited time frame – a new feature that was already being tested last August. You will have to go to the settings to activate the option.
Please note that this feature does not allow you to block messages from unknown senders in general. This means that numbers not listed in your contacts will still be able to contact you freely, and you will have to manually ban people you do not want to communicate with.
Spam on WhatsApp: better manage messages from strangers
This new feature, which is currently under development, allows you to kill two birds with one stone. Currently, WhatsApp uses automated tools to detect and filter malicious actors on the platform while preserving privacy, including algorithms that identify suspicious behavior and bulk messages. With this option enabled, WhatsApp will automatically block messages from unknown accounts, protecting users from unwanted or potentially dangerous communications. Simply go to Settings > Privacy > Advanced settings.
Additionally, this feature is designed to improve device performance by reducing the influx of spam and unwanted messages that can overload the app. Such accounts can flood users with a high volume of messages in a short period of time, which can overwhelm the app and negatively impact device performance. By enabling the ability to block messages from unknown accounts, the feature will significantly reduce the amount of data that the instant messenger has to process.
This feature is now available for testers, it should arrive in a future update on the general public version of the platform. In any case, it will offer a little more management and security, by allowing to do an initial sorting in spam!