To stop spam, WhatsApp to soon show 'forwarded message'

At present, WhatsApp does not block the forwarding of a message more than 25 times

Image representational: AFP

New Delhi: In a move to stop mass-level spam circulation on its platform, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature that will show "Forwarded Message" if the spam post has been forwarded from another group or from one of the members in the same chat group. "Forwarded Message" will appear on top of every post that spammers forward to the group. The feature has been spotted by wabetainfo.com that follows WhatsApp Google Play Beta Programme in the version 2.18.67. "Today, WhatsApp has modified the behaviour of the feature, that will show on the bubble (when the feature will be enabled in future), a "Forwarded Message" string, if the message has been forwarded from another chat (or from the same chat)," read the information on the website. When a message is forwarded a lot of times, you can notice the label on the bubble. A spammer sends spam messages to multiple users, selecting them in his contacts list, picking these data from the Internet or from some registration services. These messages may contain unwanted advertising and fake news, and they often invite you to forward the message to your contacts. At present, WhatsApp does not block the forwarding of a message more than 25 times. "The spammers may start to forward a new message to bypass the new move but this operation will certainly slow down and discourage them," said the information. WhatsApp has also added the possibility to forward stickers to other chats which will be available in the future. These two features are currently under development and will be enabled in next WhatsApp updates.