WhatsApp is working to introduce a feature that could help users avoid spam calls. According to WabetaInfo, a beta tracker of WhatsApp updates, the feature will bring the ability to silence calls from unknown numbers. However, such calls will still be visible in the notification centre and the calls list.
To recall, the Meta-owned messaging platform had introduced its Communities feature. However, that also made WhatsApp numbers open to random calls and group chat invites, often from unknown users. WhatsApp lets its users report and block spammers, but there is no way to silence such calls. The Meta-owned company is working to solve this problem.
"Thanks to the recent version of WhatsApp beta for Android, we discovered that WhatsApp is developing a new feature that allows users to silence calls from unknown numbers while still showing them in the calls list and notification center, for a future update of the app. This feature has several advantages, such as reducing interruptions and potentially avoiding spam calls," WABetaInfo wrote on its page.
WABetaInfo further explained in a screenshot that WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will allow users to silence calls from unknown numbers, for a future update of the app. The toggle will be located in the app settings and, once enabled, calls from unknown numbers will always be silenced, but they will still be shown in the calls list and notification centre.
Spam calls can also be dangerous: scammers may call users in order to steal personal information or trick people into making payments or providing sensitive data. However, WhatsApp provides the option to block and report these callers and, thanks to this feature, WhatsApp users will finally avoid receiving calls from unknown numbers by muting them, which are often associated with spam calls," WABetaInfo added.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also likely to introduce a private newsletter tool. As per WhatsApp tester WABetaInfo, the Meta-owned messaging platform is working on a “private newsletter tool” that may launch in a future update of the app.
WhatsApp newsletters will be a one-to-many tool for broadcasting information and they might be a new way to easily receive useful updates from people and groups like local officials, sports teams or other organisations.
WABetaInfo noted that WhatsApp is working on bringing the ability to create newsletters to a future update of the app. The feature is currently under development and hence, it is not ready to be released to beta testers as of now.