WhatsApp is slowly increasing the privacy of its app to reduce the leakage of personal data. As we now see in our applications, Meta has blocked screenshots in the profile photo area. Although “screenshot” is possible, the result is a black image.

Although we take the necessary precautions not to talk to strangers on WhatsApp and, due to the way we work, we prevent these people from knowing private information about us. There will always be information to share. The name associated with the phone number (for example, also the profile photo). And this data says a lot, it is advisable to know what they see from us via WhatsApp. Protecting ourselves is a good strategy.

Profile photo is protected from capture on WhatsApp

If we try to take a screenshot of the profile photo we get a black image

As we said, it is not the first part of mobile applications to be protected against screenshots, because self-destructing content does not allow it to be preserved for future generations, neither by saving the image or video, nor by taking a “screenshot”. WhatsApp has now taken another step protect profile photo, that image we put as an avatar; From the WhatsApp function itself or from our gallery.

As they discovered on Android Police and we can verify on our smartphones, WhatsApp retained profile photo in latest beta version of Android. This means that we cannot take a screenshot of the image that another user has shared as a profile, but we can take a snapshot of the thumbnail along with the rest of their profile information.

WhatsApp decided to protect the most sensitive content of the profile so that No one can take a photo from their phone (but you can always do this using another mobile phone). Go to any person’s information and click on their avatar image, so all you’ll get after the screenshot is a black shot.

Profile photo protection is already enabled in the latest versions of the Android app, although not in the iPhone beta: We tested it, and the app recorded the capture of the profile photo as if nothing had happened. Meta is expected to expand this blocking to all mobile phones after updating the stable versions: a small step towards protecting the private information of everyone who uses the app.

Cover image | Ivan Linares

via | Android Police

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