Are you the type to go the TMI route on WhatsApp chats?
Or are you paranoid that someone somewhere is creepily reading your messages?
Either way - good for you then - as WhatsApp is soon to release an update blocking users from taking screenshots of conversations.
According to WABetaInfo, the Facebook-owned messaging service will soon bring in a fingerprint enabled safety feature. Along with it will come a ban on screenshotting of chat windows.
More on that here:
Can you imagine the world of a difference this can bring?
Scenario 1: When You Are Stuck Decoding Your Single Friends’ Chats
“Was he drunk when he said this?”
“Was I sounding too eager?”
“What do you think the heart emoji here means?”
We have all had that one friend that keeps redefining TMI for us, by bombarding us with screenshots of private messages with their ‘maybe’ ‘to-be’ partners and asking us for relationship advice.
Breath a sigh of relief for they won’t be able to screenshot the most embarrassing details from their chats, for us.
Scenario 2: When We Crack up at Creepers Sending Shady WhatsApps
Let’s face it. The only thing good about a creepy whatsapp message from a random ‘frand’ is cracking up on it with your gal pals. And a screenshot is what enables it.
All the times they have had sent dirty or even plain stupid messages in broken sentences, your fingers move automatically to capture it and send it to your comrades to rip it apart with you.
Alas, no more of that.
Scenario 3: When You Get Back at Someone Citing Old Messages
Screenshots are a formidable weapon in modern relationships. Whether you are getting back at someone for forgetting an important date/promise, or catching inconsistency in their narratives - screenshots are evidences.
And this weapon is waived by friends, lovers and relatives alike. You can’t just say something and easily go back on it, a screenshot will be there to remind you of every lie, promise or even typo, for that matter.
This update is definitely bad news for those who have aced the screenshot
On a serious note though, screenshots have helped many women in dealing with abusive and unwanted messages that find their way into their phones. Although a clear breach of privacy - WhatsApp screenshots have proven to be very helpful as well. For example, several of the women who came out during #MeToo to oust their abuser were armed with screenshots.
In fact Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had launched a channel, allowing WhatsApp users to register complaints against vile or abusive messages. This new update would be definitely detrimental to the progress made in such complaints against perpetrators.
However, while one may not be able to take screenshots, the messages still are evidence that could be produced to concerned departments.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)