Overview
- Meta has started a gradual release on iOS and Android after beta testing, with availability expanding over the next few weeks via Settings > Privacy > Advanced.
- Enabling the setting applies the app’s most restrictive options, blocking attachments and media from unknown senders, silencing calls from unknown numbers and limiting group invites, and it can be turned on or off at any time.
- Coverage of the feature notes added safeguards such as disabling link previews, routing calls through WhatsApp’s servers and restricting profile visibility to contacts, along with security change alerts in chats.
- Meta says the control is designed primarily for people who face elevated risks of targeted cyberattacks, including journalists and public figures.
- One outlet reports WhatsApp uses the Rust programming language internally to analyze and block potentially dangerous files, a detail not widely confirmed by other sources.