WhatsApp, with an end goal to battle fake and spam messages, mocking and phishing on its stage had finally begun testing the Suspicious Link Indicator feature in Android beta rendition 2.18.204. Notwithstanding, this testing was restricted to a few beta clients. Presently, WhatsApp has revealed the Suspicious Link Indicator feature to all clients on Android beta beginning rendition 2.18.221. Alongside this, WhatsApp has set up an FAQ page on its site, specifying how the component works.
WhatsApp Introduced New Feature ‘Suspicious Link Indicator’ In The Wake of Grave Events in India
WhatsApp beta on Android 2.18.221 can tag a ‘Suspicious Link‘ at whatever point a contact sends one to you (first spotted by WABetaInfo). This refresh is required to caution unconscious clients of a suspicious connection before they open it. WhatsApp will likewise allegedly alarm the client by and by searching for surprising characters on the off chance that they endeavor to open the connection. Two choices, Open Link and Go Back, will be given. The suspicious character is featured in the discourse box that shows up when you endeavor to open the connection. The new Suspicious Link Detection highlight isn’t at present accessible on iOS and Windows Phone, however, will be taken off in future updates.
According to WhatsApp, “This indicator may appear when a link contains a combination of characters that are considered unusual. Spammers may use these character combinations to trick you into tapping on links that appear to go to a legitimate website, but actually, take you to a malicious site.” Moreover, WhatsApp has also mentioned that all the links are automatically checked. No data is seen by the company due to the end-to-end encryption that was announced in November 2014.
While this new feature will act as a measure against phishing, spoofing, and potentially even spam, it may not be as successful in combating fake news, which is a colossal issue for WhatsApp right now. There are several websites which don’t have any special characters in the URL but are known for spreading conspiracy speculations and unconfirmed or altogether false stories as legitimate news.
WhatsApp has also announced that it is planning to restrain message forwarding capabilities for Indian users in the wake of the mob lynching in the nation. As per the reports, Indians have maximum tendency to forward messages the most. This is indeed a good step to avoid any unfortunate events in the country.
