Whatsapp is working on a feature that will allow users to report an individual or business account, and provide chats as proof. According to WABetaInfo, the official Whatsapp reporting website, the feature is live on Android version 2.20.206.3. Beta testers are also expected to start seeing it soon.
Normally, a user simply reports an individual or business account mostly due to spamming. Whatsapp normally responds by suspending various functions of the reported user.
The new feature however, will require that anyone reporting an account share recent chat messages as proof. The only difference being that Whatsapp now requires proof before taking any action against any account.
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Once you report an account, you will now get a message saying “Most recent messages from this user will be forwarded to Whatsapp.”
According to WABetaInfo, Whatsapp “elaborates your report considering several factors.” The company first checks your report against how many other users have reported the account in question. If they find a considerable amount of reports, the account is then blacklisted.
When you receive a message from a new contact, Whatsapp asks you to report, block or add the contact to your phone book. If you choose to report, Whatsapp will now ask you to submit a recent copy of the chats to verify if your report is justified or not.
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When sending the chat messages as proof, you will also see a disclaimer from the app saying ” WhatsApp never receives your messages without your permissions. If you decide to report a contact, you agree to forward a copy to WhatsApp of the recent messages from that chat.”
If in a group chat, you have the option to exit and delete the group altogether and if with an individual, you will also be given the option to block the person and clear the chat. Whatsapp has not shared the official release date for the feature.
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