WhatsApp update now limits users from forwarding some text messages in its beta version for Android.

WhatsApp
(Photo : by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on October 12, 2021 in Moscow shows the US instant messaging software Whatsapp's logo on a smartphone screen.

WhatsApp Update Limits Forwarding Messages

As per a news story by the United States Sun, the beta version of WhatsApp is now restricting its users from forwarding text messages for a select number of times.

As such, the messaging app of the parent firm of Facebook, Meta, is making misinformation, as well as harmful messages, harder to spread on the platform.

According to a recent post by WABetaInfo, a site that specifically checks out what's coming to WhatsApp by digging up its codes, the latest Android beta has already limited the forwarding feature.

WhatsApp
(Photo : by YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on November 10, 2021 in Moscow shows the US instant messaging software Whatsapp's logo on a smartphone screen.

The beta version of WhatsApp now only allows users to forward a message to a single group chat. Going beyond that, the forwarding feature of the app gets disabled for the said text message.

That said, if WhatsApp users want to send a message to another group chat, they will have to select the text manually to send it to a third or second group chat.

On top of that, WABetaInfo revealed that once a message has already been forwarded to a group, it will then be marked as forwarded. In turn, the forward feature for the specific text would be blocked.

The website said that once a message has been marked as forwarded, "it's no longer possible to forward it to more than one group chat at a time."

When a message has already been forwarded, a prompt that says "forwarded messages can only be sent to one group chat" will start to pop up, giving users only two options to choose from: Learn More or OK.

WABetaInfo noted that the limiting feature of WhatsApp is now only live for beta users. But it claims that the forwarding restriction is also coming to the general public.

Read Also: WhatsApp Communities Feature Allows Admins Manage Group Chats More Efficiently-Linking Them Together

WhatsApp and Forwarding Restriction

It is worth noting that WhatsApp has yet to confirm if the forward restricting feature is coming to all users soon. It is still unclear why the messaging app is testing it out on its beta version.

However, the US Sun said in its news story that early versions of various apps give its users a sneak peek of what's to come.

WhatsApp
(Photo : by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
This picture taken in Moscow on October 5, 2021 shows the US instant messaging software Whatsapp logo on a smartphone screen. - Major social media services including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were hit by a massive outage on October 4, 2021, tracking sites showed, impacting potentially tens of millions of users.

Meanwhile, according to a recent report by Android Police, it is not the first instance that WhatsApp went on to limit message forwarding on its platforms.

In fact, way back in 2019, WhatsApp started blocking forwarding messages when users have already exceeded five chats. Then, in 2020, it has been limited to a single chat.

This time around, though, forwarding messages is likely to be limited to a single group chat.

Related Article: Upcoming WhatsApp Features Include Polls on Group Chats: Multi-Device Compatibility 2.0 Included

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Written by Teejay Boris

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