WhatsApp launches ‘Stay Safe’ campaign to educate users on safety features

“At the end of the day, it is the user who has the right to decide who to block, who to report, who to accept in their contact list, and ensure that they are in control of their own lives,” he added.

The campaign highlights why it is important to add two-step verification to WhatsApp, which requires a six-digit pin and an OTP to authenticate a user. This will be helpful if the smartphone is lost, as the miscreant will not be able to access WhatsApp without the security pin.

Meta will also use this campaign to educate users about the block and report feature, where a user will be able to block a suspecting account and report the same to WhatsApp for further action. Similarly, it will also focus on highlighting several privacy features such as how to enable or disable profile photos, last seen, and status to select users. Lastly, it will also highlight various group safety features, including privacy settings and a group invite system.

Over the past few years, WhatsApp has not only tried to address “integrity” concerns but also made the platform simpler and better, such as communities for organising groups. Calling “misinformation” a problem of the real world, Thukral says the platform has taken many steps to secure users and prevent them from spreading fake news

“We are an encrypted platform where I cannot see, I cannot read, I cannot store any of your messages. My access to content is negligible or zero as compared to our Facebook or IG right within our family of apps,” he explains.

He continued: “We heard the feedback we received from India and we reduce the virality, or at least the factor of virality by limiting forwards to only five highly forwarded messages.” Due to the measured steps taken by WhatsApp, there was a drop in virality in the range of 70 per cent on the platform.