India is witnessing a surge in cyber fraud cases and one of the most vulnerable platforms to these scams is WhatsApp. With millions of active users, the Meta-owned instant messaging app is becoming a common ground for scammers to spread their tricks. So, in order to protect users, Meta is working on a new security feature that will allow users to block their location from being tracked down using their IP address during a call.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is testing a new option in the settings for call privacy called “Protect IP address in calls.” The feature will make it more difficult for people to track your location during a WhatsApp call by routing the call through WhatsApp’s servers. “This new option works like a privacy relay feature for calls, that makes it harder for people in the call to infer your location by securely relaying through WhatsApp servers,” says the report.
However, while the feature will give users an extra layer of security, it will compromise a bit on the quality of the call. This is because the call is routed through WhatsApp’s servers, which encrypts and routes the data. The encryption and routing processes can add a small amount of latency, which can affect call quality.
The new IP address protection feature is designed to enhance the privacy of your location information during calls, making it more challenging for the individuals you are communicating with to pinpoint your precise location. In terms of availability, WhatsApp has not yet made an official announcement about this feature. Wabetainfo first observed the feature during testing, which was initially seen in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.18.15 update. So it is likely to be included in a forthcoming app update.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp recently released a new “Silence Unknown Callers” feature in its settings. Announcing the features in its official blog post, Meta revealed that the new “Silence Unknown Callers” feature will give WhatsApp users more privacy and control over incoming calls. The feature will automatically screen out spam, scams, and calls from unknown people for enhanced protection on the platform.
Announcing the new privacy feature, Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Meta, said, “You can now automatically silence incoming calls from unknown contacts on WhatsApp for even more privacy and control.”
Once turned on, the new feature will silence the incoming calls from unknown numbers. However, to ensure that users don’t miss out on important calls, WhatsApp still shows the call history in the call list tab and in notifications.
Source By: indiatoday
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