WhatsApp to get a critical security tool to curb the spread of spam, fake news: All you need to know

WhatsApp is experimenting with a new feature to help users detect suspicious links and stop the circulation of spam, among other false news Creative Commons

WhatsApp would develop a tool to detect suspicious links in WABetaInfo messages claims that WhatsApp has submitted a new update (version: 2.18.206) with a doubled security feature – "Suspicious Link Detection" to the Google Play Beta Program for approval, so that the company can create a software update to be included in its Messenger application.

Once updated, WhatsApp will inform users that the message has been forwarded contains a malicious link that contains unusual characters. try to appear as another site. This information will help users to exercise caution.

However, it is necessary to wait a month or two before arriving at the public forum, because the company belonging to Facebook wants to make sure that the security function is foolproof. The company wants to go one step at a time, the last is Suspicious Link Detection and will add more features, then finally deploy.

The news comes in the wake of the Indian government urging WhatsApp to improve the messaging app to curb the spread of misinformation, which has led to lynching violence in various cities of the country.

False messages falsely claiming the presence of child traffickers in nearby communities have made parents paranoid. Fearing to hurt their children, they resorted to the law and beat several migrant workers

There were also cases of false identity in the coastal town of Mangaluru, Karnataka. A father was walking with his young son, but the child was crying. People in the neighborhood took it for a child who raises it and beat it. Fortunately, he was saved by the timely intervention of the local police.

We believe that this feature will certainly, to a certain extent, curb the spread of false news. It will also help users avoid clicking malicious links that can infect the mobile phone with malware.

In a related development, WhatsApp launched "Research Awards for Social Science and Misinformation" with a generous cash prize of up to $ 58,000 (about Rs 34,37,500) in India and from other parts of the world. This new study program has the same purpose as the aforementioned WhatsApp measure to stop the circulation of fake news, violence-inducing content and other vicious content on its mobile app.

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