- WhatsApp's latest beta update for Android restricts users from taking screenshots of profile photos.
- This feature aims to improve user privacy and discourage unauthorized sharing of profile pictures.
- The update is now live for select users on Android and will be available to all users across platforms soon.
Profile photos on WhatsApp are a great way to express yourself while helping others identify you on the app. However, they could also be downloaded and misused by others for malicious purposes. To solve that problem, WhatsApp removed the ability to download profile pictures almost half a decade ago. But you could still take their screenshot. With the latest beta release, WhatsApp is rolling out a solution to this loophole.
As reported by WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta version #2.24.4.25 for Android has brought essential privacy-related changes. The app now restricts taking screenshots of user’s profile pictures. This change adds an extra layer of security preventing others from capturing your profile photo without your consent.
We have tested this feature on our end, and it works as intended. As you can see in the image above, whenever someone attempts to take a screenshot of profile pictures, they will get a toast notification pop-up labeled – “ Can’t take a screenshot due to app restrictions.” This will discourage users from trying to save profile pictures of other users in the future.
This is a big step towards user privacy on the app as sharing and misusing profile photos has been a prevalent issue for several WhatsApp users. This loophole allowed other malicious parties to harass other users or create fake identities. This feature not only improves user privacy on the app but also lowers unauthorized sharing of people’s profile photos.
But yeah, it will never be foolproof because people can still capture photos or videos of the profile pictures using another phone, like we did. Nonetheless, blocking the ability to screenshot other’s profile pictures is the right move to stop scammers and malicious actors.
The update is already live for select users, so you can download it from the Google Play Store if you are enrolled in the Beta program. Other users will have to wait a while as the update will roll out to all users over the coming weeks. What are your thoughts about this new change on the app, let us know in the comments below.
