In order to create a safer and secured private messaging service, authorities at WhatsApp are continuously making changes to its platform and services in India.
After monitoring the impact of recent changes made to limit the viral content, Abhijit Bose head of WhatsApp India said, “This work is never done – there is more than we can and will do.”
The Whatsapp updates in past months
In the past months, Whatsapp released several updates to limit the sharing of viral content of its platform in India. The first change was made by including a “forwarded” label on the messages that have been shared. This helps to find out the origin of a forwarded message.
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Other than that, the company has also tried to slow down the sharing of viral messages. Now, users can only forward a viral meme (or video) to 5 users at a time. But this isn’t over yet. There are many more changes to come but before that let me tell you, why WhatsApp decided to make these changes.
The reason for limiting viral content on WhatsApp
On many occasions, the government has asked the authorities at WhatsApp to devise a way that can reveal the origin of fake messages. The spread of these fake WhatsApp messages had caused several cases of lynching last year.
Additionally, the company also wants to make WhatsApp a secure private messaging service. Abhijit Bose is the first top-level executive hired by the company to take care of its Indian users.
Abhijit believes that private messaging is fundamental to safety. And he will be working with all stakeholders in India to come up with different ways to make ensure the safety of its users.
What are the other changes WhatsApp is trying to make
Currently, WhatsApp is working on its upcoming payment feature called WhatsApp payment that will allow it’s user to send money to their loved ones and different merchants easily.
This feature will be using services like UPI (Unified Payments Interface), which will make it user-friendly. Most of the people are already familiar with the UPI technology and making it available on WhatsApp’s platform is just going to add another benefit for its users.
Whatsapp payment app
The app might not be very different from other UPI based apps already available in the market. But knowing the fact that you’ll always have Whatsapp installed on your smartphone, you won’t have to worry about downloading any other online payment app.
Soon, you won’t have to manage multiple payment apps because WhatsApp will allow the same. Moreover, it will also help introduce the concept of digital money for rural Indian users.
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Furthermore, they are planning to help the Indian economy by helping small businesses to grow. As of now, there are several small businesses that use WhatsApp as the medium to connect with their customers. And the target is to increase the number of small scale business with the help of this platform.
The research behind the proposed changes
Bose also said, “Our research shows that 70% of small businesses using WhatsApp have said they have built their business on this platform. And there are 77% of business owners who are able to grow their business since they have joined WhatsApp.”
They have assigned a team to find a way to deal with the fake news. Though, this might take some time. But it’s good to know WhatsApp is taking all the necessary steps to make this platform secure for its users.
In Conclusion:
Taking care of fake news and viral content is quite necessary. The best part is WhatsApp won’t have to compromise with user’s privacy (and data) in order to give what the government is looking for.
So, before sharing a video, just find out if it’s real or just an attempt to make viral news!
