WhatsApp Testing New Restricted Chats Feature to Strengthen Privacy

Instant messaging platform WhatsApp is introducing a new security feature called Restricted Chats to strengthen the privacy and data protection of users’ conversations. The feature has been introduced as an enhanced version of the previously available Advanced Chat Privacy feature.

According to technology tracker WABetaInfo, the Meta-owned company has already begun testing the feature among selected beta users on Android (version 2.26.36.4) and iOS (version 26.39.10.20).

Strict Restrictions and How It Works

The Restricted Chats feature will not be enabled by default for everyone. Users will have to manually activate it from the profile options of a specific individual or group chat.

Once activated, four major security restrictions will be imposed on the selected conversation. These include preventing photos or videos from the chat from being automatically saved to the device, disabling the option to export the entire chat, preventing the use of Meta AI within the conversation, and blocking access to the chat from any added or linked device.

The restrictions on linked devices are primarily intended to prevent messages from being extracted through unauthorized third-party clients or AI agents.

Security Assurance and Overall Impact

WhatsApp has assured users that, whether or not Restricted Chats is enabled, all messages and voice calls will continue to be fully protected by end-to-end encryption, as before.

Meta has not yet announced a specific date for when the feature will be widely available to general users.

However, technology experts believe the new WhatsApp initiative could further increase the messaging app’s popularity by strengthening digital communication security and preventing information from being leaked through unwanted means.

//DBTech/BMT/OR//