Watch out for WhatsApp alert that means you’ve broken the rules with simple mistake

IF you’re using WhatsApp and you see a grey pop-up, it means you’re trying to break the rules.

Earlier this year, WhatsApp added a new “block” to prevent you from doing something naughty.

WhatsAppScreenshot blocking helps to keep your images private[/caption]

The app now blocks you from taking screenshots of View Once messages.

If you try to do it, you’ll get a pop-up warning you that the app has prevented you from capturing the screen.

It was announced back in August by Meta and WhatsApp boss Mark Zuckerberg, as part of a trio of new features.

And it’s designed to prevent users from taking screenshots of messages that were intended to disappear.

The pop-up will say: “Screenshot was blocked for added privacy.”

The View Once feature warns: “This is a View Once photo so it’s more private.

“It will disappear from the chat after you close it.

“Also, you can’t share, forward, copy, save, or take a screenshot of it.”

Sadly, the feature isn’t completely watertight, as recently revealed by The Sun.

A rogue chatter could simply use another device to take a photo or video of the screen.

There’s no way for WhatsApp to stop this.

As always, the best advice is to be very careful with what you share online.

If you don’t want something being on the internet or shared around, avoid sending it to anyone.

Even people you trust now might not be so loyal in the future.

And someone might save an image and then end up being hacked themselves.

Blocking screenshots on disappearing messages adds a significant extra layer of security.

But you can’t rely entirely on it – so always be cautious with who you’re sending images, videos or even texts to.

If an image is extremely sensitive, consider showing the person in real life or finding a more secure way to get your message across.

Nevertheless, it’s still a good idea to use View Once where you can, as it’s better than leaving an image out in the open forever.

“View Once is already an incredibly popular way to share photos or media that don’t need to have a permanent digital record,” WhatsApp explained in a new blog post.

“Now we’re enabling screenshot blocking for View Once messages for an added layer of protection.”

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]

  Read More