Whatsapp removes an important function

Digital

New functions are constantly being added to applications such as Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook or Telegram. This often leads to applications merging more and more with each other – for example with Whatsapp last year. Here, Meta introduced the feature that Snapchat was once famous for: the ability to open photos only once. However, now the messaging service has decided to remove part of this functionality.

Whatsapp removes functionality – for more privacy

While Whatsapp has often been criticized in the past for not being particularly sensitive to the sensitive data of its users, Meta is now working in favor of privacy. As reported by “Wabetainfo”, the group has restricted the “submit for one-time viewing” functionality.

The function can be turned on and off by clicking on “1” at the bottom right.Image: screenshot / Watson

The main change here is that these messages can only be viewed and sent via a smartphone. Previously, it was also possible to open or send images at once on the computer or in the browser in general.

The reason for the screenshot lock is to work

The reason for this action is the new screenshot blocking introduced by Whatsapp according to “Wabetainfo”. Although this ban has not yet reached Germany, it may soon spread here as well.

With Netflix and RTL+ streaming services, for example, it hasn’t been possible to take screenshots in the app for a long time. In principle, you can take a picture of the screen and save it to the gallery, but the image appears completely black.

Although it was possible for the app developers to unlock this functionality for Android and iOS, blocking screenshots in the browser on PC is not working yet.

Thus, Meta has closed a security hole with the screenshot lock for Whatsapp. Despite this, caution is advised when sending sensitive photos, as there is always the possibility of shooting the sent photo with another smartphone.

Recently, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, announced that some changes are pending on Whatsapp. Group chats and polls are planned. In addition, users should soon be able to create larger groups, so-called communities, in order to get a better overview of their group chats. Now, another new function will be added, and at the same time long-awaited.