Billions of WhatsApp users should update their devices today to stop scammers with new triple alert feature

WHATSAPP has started rolling out a new triple alert feature that can help users spot a dodgy group chat – and you’ll need to update the app to access it.

As with any social media and messenger platform, scammers abound.

1

It is important to be experienced and ensure you are protected at all times.

Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp along with Facebook and Instagram, introduced a new feature to help its users in this mission.

If you’re added to a group by someone you don’t know, you’ll see a context card appear.

The alert will give you more information about the group, such as who added you, when the group was created, and who created it.

These three details can help WhatsApp users figure out if it’s a group they want to be part of – before they fall prey to a potential scam.

From there, WhatsApp users can decide to stay or leave the group.

They can also access some WhatsApp security tools.

Scammers often cast their phishing net far and wide, adding dozens of numbers to a group chat before trying to lure them into a scam.

The gimmicks themselves are varied and can be anything from a get-rich-quick scheme to job advertisements.

A telltale sign that a group chat isn’t for you is if you don’t recognize the contact who added you or the one who formed the chat.

It may also be suspicious if the group has just been created.

In less nefarious circumstances, the feature could save WhatsApp users from a little social embarrassment.

For example, if you just made a new friend or group of friends and haven’t saved them to your contacts yet.

This can help confirm the new friend’s name.

The update has already started to be implemented and will be available to all users in the coming weeks, according to Meta.

Just update your app to access it.

More security features

The feature joins a number of other WhatsApp security features.

A revolutionary group safety feature released in 2019 stopped people from automatically adding you to groups.

Since then, users have been forced to invite others to groups to avoid an unsolicited cascade of group chats appearing in their inbox from scammers.

Last year, WhatsApp revealed a new setting that made it even easier to avoid unwanted calls by silencing unknown numbers.

More recently, WhatsApp introduced the elegant chat lock that prevents prying eyes from snooping on your messages.

You can now add a lock to WhatsApp – preventing people from accessing the app.

But since April, WhatsApp owners have been able to block specific conversations.