Reflecting on last year’s cybersecurity report, which highlighted increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, social media platforms like WhatsApp have also been affected.

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Several Updates Since the Start of the Year

In recent months, Meta has been proactive in rolling out new updates for its applications, particularly WhatsApp. While the company has focused on AI-driven tools, such as “Private Processing” in June which summarized unread messages, WhatsApp is set to introduce even more advanced features in its next update.

Amid the rising wave of cyber-attacks, Meta’s developers have decided to respond with a solution that could significantly alter the user experience.

Over 6.8 Million WhatsApp Accounts Banned

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In a statement released this Tuesday, August 5, on its website, Meta announced new tools that will help users more easily identify scams on WhatsApp. The company also revealed that it had banned over 6.8 million accounts associated with organized crime, particularly in Southeast Asia.

To achieve this, WhatsApp has been working for about six months on measures for active accounts and on detecting and removing accounts even before they are utilized.

A New Preview for Group Chats

In the latest version of WhatsApp, users who join a group will now see a preview that includes important information about the group and safety tips if they do not know the person who invited them.

Users will only be able to view messages in the group after accepting the invitation, or they can leave the group without opening the conversation if they feel it’s necessary.

Details Provided When a Stranger Contacts You

Meta also shared that many scams occur when strangers initiate contact with individual users.

To reduce these scams, the updated version of WhatsApp will now provide information about the person contacting you for the first time, if they are not in your contact list.

In addition, Meta plans to develop new features to combat scams through individual messaging, although the company did not provide further details on this initiative.