What it means if your WhatsApp texts are in red

There have been a growing number of unsolicited messages being shared to people on WhatsApp. Therefore, the company will soon be releasing a new feature that will help check the misuse of the platform. The feature is called “Suspicious Link Detection”.

It is currently being tested, but WhatsApp will roll out the feature in the near future. The Suspicious Link Detection feature works by conducting a background check whenever a user receives a link to a third-party website.

This background check will verify the authenticity of the website. The feature will alert the user if it finds something suspicious in the website link.

WhatsApp will mark a dubious website with a red label. This red label will either mark the message as spam or indicate that the link in the message will redirect to a fake website.

If the user still proceeds to click on the link, WhatsApp will give one more alert that the link is suspicious.

WhatsApp is also taking other measures to hammer down on the misuse of their platform. For one, WhatsApp provides users with an option to either block or add an unknown contact. WhatsApp also permits group administrators to allow or restrict members from messaging in a group.

There is also a “Forwarded” label on WhatsApp. This allows users to identify whether a message has been written or forwarded.

The Suspicious Link Detection feature is currently available on WhatsApp’s 2.18.204 beta version. The company is also working to stop the misuse of their platform through other means.

They will be awarding $50,000 to independent researchers who study the spread of false propaganda on their platform and find measures for curtailing it.

WhatsApp has established “WhatsApp Research Awards for Social Science and Misinformation”. The WhatsApp Research Awards will give funding to these independent researchers. The monetary reward will be unrestricted. People who earn the award will be able to use the prize money for any cause.

Thanks to WhatsApp’s new efforts, the amount of people who misuse their platform will hopefully decrease significantly.

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://unsplash.com/photos/33oxtOMk6Ac