WhatsApp is now testing a new feature within its Groups Settings to help users stop sending “Frequently Forwarded” messages in a bid to minimise fake news on its platform. This is according to a report in WABetaInfo blog.
The blog says that the Facebook-owned platform is already working on two features that will help its over 1.5 billion users know how many times a message has been forwarded, and let them decided which message should be forwarded or not.
The “Forwarding Info” and “Frequently Forwarded” features are not available yet but WhatsApp is working on these features in its beta update for Android.
Now, in the “2.19.97 beta update, WhatsApp is testing a new feature in groups that allows you to stop sending Frequently Forwarded Messages in the group,” it said.
When the feature is enabled, nobody will be able to send a Frequently Forwarded message in the group.
A user can copy the Frequently Forwarded message and send it as a new message but this will slow the process.
A message is ‘Frequently Forwarded’ when it has been forwarded more than four times. Currently, WhatsApp has limited the forwards to a maximum of five in India, which is gradually rolling out to other countries as well.