Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature that notifies users if a message is forwarded too many times.
The feature, according to a report in The Indian Express, is already live for all users on the latest version.
The user will also be notified if they are trying to forward such a message.
Before one sends a frequently forwarded message, WhatsApp will notify users that the “message has been forwarded many times”, then the user might choose to send the message as per his or her will.
This feature adds to the frequently forwarded label that WhatsApp had introduced in an attempt to curb the spread of misinformation on its platform. With this feature, the label will remain, but will now have a double arrow icon.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told The Indian Express that this is an update to the forwarded message label.
“These highly forwarded messages will be marked with a double arrow icon and users will receive a notice when they are forwarding such a message,” the spokesperson was quoted by the daily as saying.
The notification will be activated if the message is forwarded more than five times, same as the initial label feature. This message will work on all media files as well and the messages will remain encrypted, the report added.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)