WhatsApp will soon warn you in the event of a suspicious message

If you've ever received suspicious WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers, know that it happens more often than you might think. The proof, a functionality to fight against this scourge is currently in development, points out WABetaInfo.

Completely private and automated, this tool should make it possible to better identify shady messages, phishing attempts, and other scams of all kinds in order to make WhatsApp a slightly more secure platform for its three billion users around the world.

A local analysis

At the moment, this feature is still in development and buried in WhatsApp's code. It is not possible to activate it without getting your hands dirty. The captures gleaned by WABetaInfo give a pretty good idea of ​​how it works, that said. Disabled by default, the tool will analyze the contents of messages received to detect possible scams. If in doubt, a pop-up window will appear allowing you to block the number or continue the conversation.

If the operation of the tool still remains unclear (due to its non-officialization), it would still seem that WhatsApp has taken care to indicate that the detection of fraudulent content is done privately and that messages exchanged on the platform “remain end-to-end encrypted”. No doubt therefore that a database of questionable content will be downloaded to the mobile to analyze messages locally.

The use of this functionality will a priori be invisible to those who send you messages and WhatsApp will be enriched with a history of fraudulent content and will generate occasional summaries for you to see more clearly if you activate the option.

No release date yet

No information or official release date is available for this feature. No doubt we will have to wait a few more weeks before seeing it show up on the beta versions of the application. Hopefully it won't be reserved for WhatsApp Plus subscription holders.

To go further

WhatsApp opens up to other messaging services: why you'll have to wait for it to be great

In the meantime, if you want to protect yourself as much as possible, you can activate strict account settings, use a nickname system rather than your phone number or follow our tutorial to protect your privacy on the platform.