WhatsApp has recently unveiled an update aimed at reducing the annoyance of spam calls and granting users greater control over their privacy settings. The company announced a new feature called “Silence Unknown Callers,” which effectively prevents these calls from ringing on your phone. However, they will still be logged in your call list, ensuring that important calls can be identified and addressed. This feature strikes a balance between practicality and privacy, providing most users with a satisfactory experience.
And speaking of privacy, WhatsApp also introduced a feature called Privacy Checkup. “Selecting ‘Start checkup’ in your Privacy settings will navigate you through multiple privacy layers that strengthen security of your messages, calls, and personal information,” the company said. Doing so provides options like “Choose who can contact you,” “Control your personal info,” “Add more privacy to your chats” and “Add more protection to your account.”
WhatsApp also released an emotional new video encouraging users to check in on friends they may be concerned about. The company even provides a template: “Hey, I’ve been thinking about you. I’m here if you need to chat. No one else can see this but us. And you can also turn on disappearing mode or use the chat lock feature.” It’s a way for WhatsApp to promote key privacy features — chat lock was just introduced last month, for example. It could also be counterprogramming to the notion that chat lock is tailor made for cheaters, as many commenters pointed out when it launched. The new features are now rolling out.
