Have you ever wondered where a fake voice note or WhatsApp hoax originates from?
As experts demand Facebook-owned WhatsApp to disclose information about where a message in question has originated from, the company has reiterated that such proposed changes are not consistent with the strong privacy protections important to people.
The platform offers end-to-end encryption by default which means only the sender and the recipient can see the messages in circulation, not even WhatsApp.
In a recent media workshop, the company said that tracing the origin of a message is not possible given the end-to-end encryption that it provides and it would require the company to re-architect the app which would lead to a different product, one that would not be fundamentally private.
A Spokesperson said if every message you sent was kept with a record of the fact that you sent it and with a record of your phone number there would be no place for private conversations.
WhatsApp is removing over two million accounts per month for bulk or automated behaviour, over 75% without a recent user report.
The company said these efforts are particularly important during elections where certain groups may attempt to send messages at scale.
WhatsApp said its service is not a broadcast platform.
The company has now placed limits on group sizes and how users send messages. Approximately 90% of messages sent on WhatsApp are from one person to another, and a majority of groups have fewer than 10 people. WhatsApp also requires the message sender to know the phone number of the recipient.
The App on Monday launched the second leg of its "Share Joy, Not Rumours" education campaign to encourage the responsible use of its platform.
