What you need to know
- Instantly, sending a hyperlink in WhatsApp will generate a preview of the link, revealing information about the shared website or page.
- WhatsApp is planning a new option in settings that will allow users to disable viewing of links in messages.
- The privacy feature has been spotted in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android, but it’s not yet ready for end users.
Most of us can probably remember a time when something unexpected popped up on our smartphones. Whether it’s an embarrassing link sent by a friend or family member, or simply something you stumble across on social media, some things are just better kept private. That’s why WhatsApp is preparing to introduce a new feature for Android users that will allow them to disable viewing of links in messages. That way, WhatsApp users will never have to worry about an unexpected link being displayed.
The new option for WhatsApp was spotted by WABetaInfo, which found a toggle in the app’s advanced settings menu. More precisely, this option appeared only in the version 2.24.7.12 WhatsApp through the Google Play beta program. This means that you won’t be able to find it in your public version of WhatsApp for Android, and it might not appear for everyone using the beta software.
The option is pretty self-explanatory. WhatsApp currently generates a preview link for URLs sent in messages in the Android app. This makes links appear larger than normal messages and include more information. When all the information is available, WhatsApp will display the website title, excerpt and thumbnail. Depending on the connection, this may not be a problem. However, browsing links in WhatsApp messages can reveal things that you might want to keep private for various reasons.
📝 WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.7.12: what’s new? WhatsApp is working on a new privacy feature to disable viewing links, it will be available in a future update!https://t.co/nFi2dfDc18 pic.twitter.com/ MmsAA95LG0March 22, 2024
In the public version of the app, link previews are optional. But in the latest beta version of WhatsApp there is a switch called Disable link previews in Advanced WhatsApp settings section. By default, link previews will still be generated in WhatsApp messages. However, an upcoming feature will give privacy-conscious users the option to turn them off as they see fit.
As of now, the option to disable viewing links is not publicly available, but it will likely appear in the next WhatsApp update. However, we do not know the time of the public presentation of the switch.