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WhatsApp’s latest update could get you in trouble

WhatsApp’s latest update could get you in trouble
Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

  • Updated:

Back in July, we told you that WhatsApp was going to completely overhaul its notification system. WhatsApp notifications will begin to include the media from the messages they are notifying you about. If a message contains an image, then you’ll be able to view and download the image right there in the notification tray. We’re still waiting for a wider roll-out of the new notification system, but we’ve since learned that when it comes, it may contain a little added spice on top of what we first thought we were going to get.

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WhatsApp will soon enable video previews in push notifications

This news comes courtesy of the guys over at WABetaInfo. They reported via Tweet that some users have started to notice videos, from the messages they’re receiving, playing in their notification tray. What is interesting about the users talking about this is that they are not users of the WhatsApp beta, they are regular users. It looks like WhatsApp has begun rolling out this new feature to regular users. With no official word from WhatsApp, however, we’ll just have to wait and see how this unfolds over the next few days.

Once this update hits your device, it means that images and even videos will be visible on your lock screen!

Playing videos automatically on the lock screen and in the devices notification tray definitely opens up a number of privacy issues. If a device is left unattended or if the person using it is in a crowded environment, then there won’t be much stopping other people from seeing the videos playing in the user’s notifications. According to the reports, the previews don’t play the whole video, but there could still be enough on display to cause embarrassment or, even worse, some sort of security issue.

For people worried about scenarios like the ones we’ve described above, you’ll be glad to know that you’ll have the option to turn off the feature. Once we’ve received the update, we’ll make sure we post a tutorial on how to prevent images and videos showing up on your lock screen and in your notification tray. To make sure you don’t miss out on that, pop your email address in the box at the bottom of the page to receive our regular email updates.

This is just the latest of a number of new WhatsApp features on the horizon. Soon, we can also expect to see a new search function for WhatsApp Stickers, an updated contact sharing feature, and WhatsApp has even extended its iOS beta testing program.

Make sure you stick with us for all the latest WhatsApp related breaking news.

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney is a news reporter for Softonic, keeping readers up to date on everything affecting their favorite apps and programs. His beat includes social media apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Patrick also covers antivirus and security issues, web browsers, the full Google suite of apps and programs, and operating systems like Windows, iOS, and Android.

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