WhatsApp Testing Link Privacy Feature; Working on Picture-in-Picture Support on iOS: Reports

WhatsApp has reportedly started rolling out a new privacy feature. This helps users choose the privacy level of the links that are shared in their chats. The feature has not yet been publicly announced, but it has been spotted on some beta testing accounts. WhatsApp is also said to be developing a new video-viewing feature within the app. Recently a report claimed that the company is working on a locked chats feature for linked devices, and it is expected to be available in a later update. WhatsApp initially rolled out the Chat Lock feature for smartphones in May 2023. 

According to an Android Police report, WhatsApp has started rolling out a link privacy feature to some beta testers. Users can choose to turn off link previews with this feature which means there will be no thumbnail preview or any other data related to the article alongside the link. This will not reveal any overt information regarding the link to anyone attempting to pry over the chats.

This feature is also expected to help declutter the chats and make them easier to navigate. More importantly, it is also expected to prevent data leaks. WhatsApp beta testers can access this feature under the Disable link previews option by tapping on Privacy > Advanced in WhatsApp’s settings menu. Gadgets 360 was able to confirm the feature is enabled on the latest beta version of WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, a report by WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo claimed that the company is developing a new video viewing feature. This would allow users to view videos shared amongst contacts on the app in a picture-in-picture segment within the app. This is similar to the picture-in-picture feature that is available when watching YouTube and Instagram videos shared on WhatsApp. 

The report noted that this picture-in-picture viewing for WhatsApp media videos is only available within the WhatsApp application, not over any other apps. This means that with this feature, you can watch a video that one of your contacts sent, come out of the chat and interact in other chats or groups within WhatsApp, while the concerned video continues playing in a smaller window. It also added that this feature is currently being worked on and is not ready to even roll out to beta testers. So, it may not see a public release in the near future.