WhatsApp has officially confirmed an important new feature that will be available to users around the world in not too long, and it will matter a lot to the way we use the platform. We already told you more than a week ago that WhatsApp will implement a new function that will allow us to check through Google Search the information from the messages received from other people, and now we have the official confirmation.
WhatsApp created a special page describing this new functionality, and quickly hid it after creation, it being extremely important in the context where more and more false information is distributed through the platform. According to the details that WhatsApp mentions there, the option to search through Google Search for information from a message resent by someone will only be available if that message is a viral one, that is, it has been resent many times.
WhatsApp: OFFICIAL, Confirmation of an IMPORTANT New Function
WhatsApp has been working for several weeks on this new function for everyone, and in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, it would be the second important measure taken to prevent the non-stop distribution of false information. Of course, this would be more useful than the first one that limits the possibility of resending a viral message to more than one person, and this is because WhatsApp would now allow checking the information in Google's search engine.
"If you often receive a message sent from one user to another user, you can initiate an Internet search from the WhatsApp chat for information about the content of the message. These messages are indicated with a double arrow icon. If you choose to search the content of a message on the web, this feature will allow you to upload the content of the message directly to Google without sharing it with WhatsApp. Google's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy will apply."
WhatsApp it certainly does not implement this new function with a "light heart", and this is because it sends people from its platform to one belonging to a competing company. However, in the absence of much tougher measures to prevent the distribution of false information, those at WhatsApp have little else to do to appease all the states and international organizations that are pressuring it to take measures to protect all people.
WhatsApp will launch this function only when it is 100% ready for distribution, but as the situation is now, this moment is not so far away.
