To help you spot and leave potentially dangerous group chats, WhatsApp is introducing a “context card” that provides essential information about their creator. An effective way to combat spam!
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. This time, Meta is tackling spam with the addition of a new function, called “Context card”, which allows users to more easily identify strangers who add them in group conversations. Currently being rolled out, it should be available to everyone in the coming days.
Context card: information on groups to detect scams
On WhatsApp, it is possible to send invitations to unknown people via their phone number. Sometimes, these are simply friends of friends, who are organizing a surprise birthday or a kitty. But many scammers take advantage of this operation to spread spam messages and invite users to unwanted groups, which turn out to be real nests of scams (phishing, sexual propositions, cryptocurrency advice, etc.). Also, to quickly recognize this type of scam, WhatsApp is deploying a “contextual card”.
This tool makes it easier for users to identify who the strangers are who add them in group conversations. HAS Every time they receive an invitation, they will automatically receive a card containing the following information: the name of the group creator, its date, its description and the user who added it – if they are part of their contacts. All these red flags should make it easy to spot scams.
At the same time, WhatsApp is also welcoming a button to easily leave the group, and another to redirect the user to the application’s security tools. These new features are currently being deployed and will be available to all users in the coming weeks. Note that it is already possible to mute a WhatsApp group to no longer receive its notifications, as well as to leave it discreetly.