WhatsApp has quietly rolled out a new feature today that more clearly marks forwarded messages. A nice new feature that also prevents the spread of spam.
WhatsApp forwarding function renewed
In a blog post explains the company why this function has been implemented. Until now, forwarded chat messages looked exactly like a normal message. As a result, it was impossible for you as a recipient to find out whether a message was created by someone yourself or simply forwarded from another chat.
WhatsApp is changing that today with a modified version of forwarded messages. From now on, these chat messages will have an arrow above with the text ‘Forwarded’, to indicate that it is a message that originally came from another chat. This new flag automatically appears above every forwarded message.
Fight spam and fake news
With this relatively small addition, WhatsApp hopes that one-on-one and group conversations become clearer. In addition, it is primarily a means of combating fake news and the excess of spam messages on the chat service. This way you can immediately see if an unknown person sends you a message whether it is a forwarded spam message or not.
These types of messages are often sent to large groups of people in the hope that someone unknowingly clicks a link to a rogue website. That is why WhatsApp is currently also testing a function that marks these types of dangerous links in red, so that you as a user know immediately that you have to be careful.
The feature is currently rolling out gradually so it may not be available with you yet. Make sure you have the most recent version of the app, because you need it to use this new function.
Read more about WhatsApp
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- WhatsApp on the Apple Watch: this is how you send apps from your wrist (10-4)
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- Tip: This is how you transfer WhatsApp conversations from Android to iPhone (17-3)