Finally WhatsApp introduces a new feature to curb the curiosity of its nosy users: here's what's changing, even in Italy, on all apps
Slowly, but recently with some conviction, WhatsApp is introducing several measures to protect the privacy and security of its users and against snoopers and stalkers who use the platform to invade the privacy of people. It is no news, however, that those who want to do our business very often go to look for a little 'on social and a little' just on WhatsApp.
Of our information on social networks, especially if we are not very attentive to privacy, we can find a lot 'but also WhatsApp can be used to know, for example, if a person is online and when he did the last access. Two pieces of information that, as is now widely demonstrated by experience, can be used by the malicious (or simply by people a little too curious) to steal news about our online habits. Unfortunately, sometimes, the last access and the online status are also used for stalking by ex-partners and even by perfect strangers, who have managed to get our phone number. WhatsApp, since a few days, has introduced a new feature to avoid at least in part all this.
WhatsApp: new status and last login
The novelty is so simple that you wonder why it was not introduced earlier: you can no longer see the last login, nor the current online status, of contacts with whom we have never exchanged a message. This means that, if a person manages to get hold of our phone number used for WhatsApp, they won't be able to know when we're online.
The novelty is being released on all official and stable apps, so not on beta apps, both for iOS and Android. Many Italian users have already noticed this difference compared to a few days ago, when it was still possible to know the last login and online status of virtually any person on WhatsApp.
The platform itself, responding to some American users who asked about why they could no longer see these two pieces of information for some of their contacts, confirmed the news via technical support: "To improve the privacy and security of our users, we're making it harder for people you don't know and have never chatted with to see your last login and online presence on WhatsApp."
The online support, however, also specifies that nothing changes for the contacts actually known, those with whom we have chatted at least once.
WhatsApp: why it is more difficult to spy on users
In practice, this novelty will have positive effects on the privacy and security of many WhatsApp users. An example makes it clear why: in the very frequent case of large WhatsApp groups with many people in them very often snoopers go to see who the members of the group are, trying to mind their own business.
Until a few days ago, in fact, it was enough to select the phone number of the contact in the group (if we have never chatted with a WhatsApp user, in fact, we will not see his name) and try to start a conversation to see when he was online.
Now all this is no longer possible and, we repeat, it is a very good thing for the privacy and security of WhatsApp users. So good that, perhaps, should have come a long time ago.