WhatsApp Introduces New Feature: Users Who Fail to Activate Risk Being Banished to Hell's Kitchen
WhatsApp Now Allows Users to Disable Link Previews and Protect IP Address
In a move to enhance user privacy, WhatsApp is updating its app to allow users to disable link previews and protect their IP addresses. This update is available in the latest beta versions for both iOS and Android.
Other messaging apps like Slack and Facebook Messenger have been using proxy servers to route link requests, protecting the sender's IP address. This practice helps shield the sender's data, ensuring that the website only sees the server, not the sender. In contrast, WhatsApp's link preview actively retrieves the contents of the linked website, potentially exposing the sender's IP address.
To disable link preview and protect your IP address in WhatsApp, follow these simple steps:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
- Navigate to Privacy.
- Scroll down and tap on Advanced.
- To disable link previews, enable the option labeled "Disable Link Preview" (or turn it on if it’s a toggle), which stops WhatsApp from showing previews of links you send or receive.
- To protect your IP address especially during calls, enable the option called "Protect IP address", which helps prevent your real IP from being exposed to contacts during WhatsApp calls.
These steps are consistent across Android and iPhone versions, though the exact locations may vary slightly by platform.
In summary:
- Disabling link previews stops automatic generation of link previews.
- Enabling the "Protect IP Address" option masks your real IP address during WhatsApp calls.
This approach improves your privacy by not revealing content previews and hiding your IP from peers during calls. For more information on this update, visit this link.
Technology is being leveraged by WhatsApp to introduce features that prioritize user privacy, such as disabling link previews and protecting IP addresses. This change can be seen as a response to the practices of other messaging apps like Slack and Facebook Messenger, which use technology like proxy servers to route link requests and protect users' IP addresses.
