Lockdown planned
New WhatsApp feature aims to prevent screenshots
The new WhatsApp feature is intended to prevent screenshots of profile pictures in the future
© Zacharie Scheurer/dpa
With an upcoming update, the WhatsApp developers apparently want to integrate a new lock into the popular messenger app. In the future, users will no longer be able to take screenshots of profile pictures.
This article first appeared on RTL.de
WhatsApp: Screenshots will soon only be possible to a limited extent
A few years ago, the function to save other people’s profile photos was removed to ensure privacy. WhatsApp had also already prevented the screenshot function of one-time images or videos.
“Action blocked”: More security for WhatsApp profile pictures
When you try to screenshot a profile picture, “a notification appears stating that the action has been blocked.” With this, the company will add an additional layer of data protection and prevent profile photos from being taken and shared without the owner’s consent. It is said that a previously existing security gap will be closed.
So far this new function only affects some beta testers. However, it will become available to other users in the coming weeks.
More storage, more security
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No 100% protection of your own profile picture
However, the new update does not represent 100% security for your own profile picture: It should be noted that users “may still be able to take a photo with a second device or a camera,” warn the blog operators at WABetaInfo.