WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, is reportedly working on a new privacy-focused feature called Advanced Chat Privacy for its Android version. This upcoming feature is designed to give users even more control over their private conversations by restricting how shared media is handled and enhancing the overall privacy of chats.
According to a report by WABetaInfo, a trusted source for WhatsApp-related updates, this feature was spotted in version 2.25.10.4 of WhatsApp Beta for Android. It is still in development and not yet available to testers or the general public. Early details reveal that this new option will be optional and can be activated manually in the app’s settings.
What Does the Advanced Chat Privacy Feature of WhatsApp Do?
Once enabled, the Advanced Chat Privacy feature will prevent recipients from automatically saving shared media—such as photos and videos—to their device’s gallery. This means if you send someone a media file, it won’t appear in their gallery by default. It adds an extra layer of privacy to your shared content.
If a recipient attempts to save the media manually, a pop-up will reportedly appear with the message:
“Advanced chat privacy has been turned on, and prevents media auto-saving to your device’s gallery.”
Users who want to keep sensitive media from being stored or easily accessed on someone else’s device may find this especially helpful.
More Privacy Enhancements Expected
In addition to blocking automatic media saving, WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp may introduce other privacy-centered controls under the same feature. These could include:
- Blocking chat export: Users who have enabled Advanced Chat Privacy may restrict others from exporting their chat histories. This means others could not copy or share entire conversations.
- Disabling AI chatbot access: The feature may also prevent users in the same conversation from interacting with Meta AI, helping to maintain privacy in more secure chats.
These additions indicate that WhatsApp is planning to offer users more customizable privacy options beyond what is currently available.
Similar to Disappearing Messages — But for Regular Chats
Currently, WhatsApp offers some of these protections under its disappearing messages feature, where messages delete themselves after a set time. However, the new Advanced Chat Privacy setting could apply similar protections to regular, non-disappearing conversations, giving users the flexibility to safeguard specific chats without having to delete messages automatically.
Still in Development
The feature is available in beta. It is not yet available to beta testers enrolled in the Google Play Beta Program. Also, not all features under development are guaranteed to make it to the final version of the app. WhatsApp often tests new functionalities internally before deciding whether to release them publicly.
Still, the development of Advanced Chat Privacy shows WhatsApp’s continued focus on user privacy and security. It also provides more tools to control how information is shared and stored across chats.
