With Social Media (via the Internet), we have the whole world at our fingertips. Information can be shared across multiple social media channels in a fraction of a second. Occasionally (rather frequently), this information may not be accurate, and it can cause fractures in society. This misinformation can cause society a great deal of trouble, ranging from online fights among WhatsApp group members to actual riots.
WhatsApp has been experimenting with various methods to curb misuse of social media. Among them is allowing group admins to delete messages deemed inappropriate for the purpose of the group.
Administrators of WhatsApp Groups will soon be able to delete messages from other members.
According to sources, the Meta-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will allow group admins to delete messages as well for other members of the group. WABetaInfo published a tweet with this information. This means that whenever an admin deletes a particular message, a message such as ‘This was deleted by an admin’ is displayed to the user.
As a group admin, you will be able to delete any message for everyone in your group, in a future update of WhatsApp beta for Android, WABetaInfo said in a tweet. Butting its news, the WhatsApp tracker shared a screenshot showing how a message deleted by a group admin will appear for Android users.
When it is rolled out and available to users, group admins will be able to delete obscene or objectionable messages with ease.
WhatsApp is working on enhancing its security.
Deletion by Admins is not the only security feature the company working on. WhatsApp is also developing the ability to add two-step verification to its desktop app and web version.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is planning to bring the two-step verification feature to desktop and web versions in a future update. It should be noted that the two-step verification is already available on the mobile app version. You just need a personal PIN when registering your phone number with WhatsApp.
Will these features be sufficient for curbing the spread of misinformation or people will find new ways to spread it? Only time will tell.