In India, WhatsApp introduces Flash Calls and Message Level Reporting Safety Features
In India, WhatsApp has added two new safety features: flash calls and message level reporting. Users can report accounts by flagging a specific message in the latter. The flash call feature is an addition to the SMS verification option required during the WhatsApp registration process.
According to WhatsApp, these two features have been added to ensure that the user experience remains secure. Aside from end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp includes a slew of security features such as blocking contacts, controlling what you share with whom, erasing messages, and locking the app with Touch ID or Face ID.
As part of its efforts to make the platform more secure, the instant messaging app has added flash calls and message level reporting features. The new flash call feature allows users to verify their phone number via an automated call rather than an SMS message when setting up WhatsApp on a new phone or re-installing it on an existing device.
This feature is currently only available to Android users. This path enables WhatsApp to automatically call the phone and verify, eliminating the need for any other SMS verification action. WhatsApp claims that this is a much safer option because it all happens within the app.
When it comes to message level reporting, WhatsApp users can now report accounts by flagging a specific message. This is accomplished by simply long pressing a specific message to either report or block a user.
According to WhatsApp’s most recent transparency report, it banned over 2.2 million accounts in September alone. While the majority of the accounts that were banned were as a result of automated tools that WhatsApp had in place to track down suspicious accounts.
WhatsApp’s other safety features include the ability to control who sees a user’s profile photo, last seen, about, and Status. It also allows users to block accounts if necessary. WhatsApp also provides users with two-step verification to add an extra layer of security.
WhatsApp has group privacy settings for group chats that allow users to control who adds them. View Once and disappearing messages were recently introduced by the company. The latter allows the user to send a photo or video that will disappear after the recipient has opened it once on WhatsApp.
