WhatsApp to Allow Forwarded Texts to Be Searched & Verified Online

WhatsApp is piloting a way to double check forwarded messages by tapping a magnifying glass icon in the chat.

(Image Courtesy: WhatsApp)

WhatsApp on Monday, 3 August, announced that it is piloting a way to double check forwarded messages by providing a new option, of tapping a magnifying glass button in the chat.

Once the feature is active, a magnifying glass icon will appear next to a forwarded text and allow a user to look up its veracity on Google.

“Providing a simple way to search messages that have been forwarded many times may help people find news results or other sources of information about content they have received,” WhatsApp’s statement said.

“This feature works by allowing users to upload the message via their browser without WhatsApp ever seeing the message itself,” the platform stated.

WhatsApp’s new ‘search the web’ option to verify forwarded texts.(Image: via WhatsApp)

In 2018, WhatsApp had introduced the “forwarded” label to messages shared in chats that have been forwarded many times. These forwarded arrows symbol help people know when they’ve received a message that was not written by a close contact.

Earlier, WhatsApp also restricted the number of people a message can be forwarded to at one time, to five.

According to the personal messaging platform’s official statement, ‘search the web’ is being rolled out in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, UK, and US for those on the latest versions of WhatsApp for Android, iOS and WhatsApp Web.

The feature’s launch date in India and the web browser options are yet to be specified.