WhatsApp Aims to Curb Spam Messages With Suspicious Link Detection Feature

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new spam prevention feature which is being called as the ‘Suspicious Link Detection’. This new feature, which WhatsApp is working on since the rollout of WhatsApp Beta version 2.18.204 will help users in knowing beforehand whether or not the link which they have received is suspicious. With the latest update of WhatsApp upgrading the version to 2.18.206, many users might expect the company to ship this new feature with the Google Play Beta update; however, the application did not receive the functionality as the feature is still under testing and will take some time for the company to roll out.

Users who were expecting the new feature on their phones should not worry since WhatsApp has made it clear that it is still working on the function and it is in the development stages. The new Suspicious Link Detection feature will scan the link locally for any spam, and if the link contains any suspicious characters or if WhatsApp thinks that it will redirect to somewhere unsafe, it will flag the link as suspicious by displaying a red warning sign over the message.

Popular blog WABetaInfo broke this news to the public. The website also informed that this feature does not send the link to WhatsApp servers to scan it, meaning that users would not have to worry about their privacy. Further even after the initial flagging of the message, if the users decide to visit the link, WhatsApp shows them a confirmation message asking them if they are sure about visiting the site.

Since now WhatsApp has skipped the rollout of this feature even with the latest beta version 2.18.206, once the development of the new feature approached completion, it will soon start shipping to the users. With the growing concern about data protection, privacy and security tech giants are paying more and more attention towards security features. As such, this suspicious link detection feature has been a much-needed functionality, since starting from its inception WhatsApp has been the seeding ground of spam links.