WhatsApp developers are continuously working on a number of new features for the multimedia messaging platform. These new features range from additions that improve the overall user experience, revamping existing parts of the platform so that they function better to those addressing any existing problems. It now looks like the company is working on a new feature that is aimed at addressing one such problem on the messaging platform. Taking a closer look at the latest
WhatsApp beta for
Android with version 2.19.74, it looks like the company is working on an in-app web browser.
According to
WABetaInfo, it is likely that this new in-app browser is aimed at tackling
fake news, one of the most prominent problems to hit the messaging platform in recent years. The developers are currently developing the feature, and it is not available for beta testers at the time of writing. The in-app browser will help users open any link that is present in the conversation. The report also noted that WhatsApp currently does not allow anyone to take screenshots or make a video when the in-app browser is open.
Watch: Android Q How to Install
As part of the feature,
WhatsApp is able to detect if any link that the browser is opening is unsafe with the help of “Safe Browsing” feature. According to the report, the feature that was initially introduced with WebView v66 last year. The feature warns users if the web page contains any malicious content though it is also likely to generate some false positives.
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WhatsApp testing new 'Search image' feature to fight fake news
In case users decide on using the feature then they should not worry about user data privacy. This is because WhatsApp and Facebook don’t have access to the websites that a user is visiting with the help on its in-app web browser. Instead, everything is managed by
Android. It is possible that the company may build on the feature and integrate some fact checking service along with the browser but this is speculative at the time of writing. This comes days after it was revealed that
WhatsApp is working on a built-in image search in the app.
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03-15-2019, 07:25 AM
WhatsApp browser: Messaging app may introduce an in-app web browser to fight fake new
