WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app, has decided to impose new restrictions on sharing user messages with more people, with the aim of preventing the spread of misinformation.
A statement released by the popular social networking site Facebook’s application said that new restrictions are being imposed on messages that have been forwarded 5 or more times, allowing users to send one message at a time. This message will not be sent in excess chats.
WhatsApp, an application used by more than 2 billion users worldwide, was banned last year from sending a message or video to more than five people at once.
The WhatsApp administration said the move had resulted in a 25 % reduction in globally forwarded messages, with two arrows above the message to indicate forwarded messages.
A blog post published by WhatsApp titled “Keeping the Application Personal and Private” added that not all forwarded messages are inaccurate or false. Given that this can lead to the spread of inaccurate information, we believe that it is important to control the spread of such messages in order to keep WhatsApp safe for personal information.
WhatsApp says in its post that billions of people are unable to see their loved ones in the event of a lockdown due to the coronavirus, which has led to a significant increase in reliance on contacts through WhatsApp, doctors, medical staff, teachers and people in isolation are also using the WhatsApp to communicate.
According to the report, the wrong messages on the WhatsApp caused the loss of many lives. In the Indian state of Maharashtra in July 2018, five people were tortured to death in a provocation caused by a fake WhatsApp message of child abduction.
Facebook has taken steps to address false and unverified news and posts, including free messenger developer tools and features.
The beta version of the WhatsApp is also working on accessing the website to know the background of any message sent to users through the new feature.
