According to an upcoming update, WhatsApp will soon offer the option of hiding the preview of websites shared via links. We’ll tell you why you should activate it.
WhatsApp will soon allow you to share links without a preview being created. (Source: Netzwelt)
- A new switch will soon be found in the WhatsApp settings.
- You can use this to prevent WhatsApp from generating a preview when sharing links.
- This way you avoid your IP address being shared with third parties.
The messenger WhatsApp regularly introduces features that are intended to ensure the security of your data and protect your privacy. If you wish, you will soon no longer be able to see a preview of a website when you share a link in the chat.
According to the fan blog WABetaInfo, a corresponding option was added to the data protection settings of the beta version 2.24.8.11 (Android) respectively 7/24/10/76 (iOS) found. It is still unclear when the option will be included in the regular app version. This can take a few days, several weeks or even months.
Disable link preview to prevent tracking
But what does previewing a website have to do with your privacy? According to WhatsApp, hiding the preview is intended to prevent your IP address from being passed on to third parties and using them to track your online activities. However, this protection only applies to links you share yourself; if someone else shares a link with you, you will still see a preview. Unless your contact also deactivates the link preview in the settings.
While WhatsApp completely prevents link previews to protect privacy, its competitor Signal offers the option of generating link previews in which your IP address is not passed on. However, this only works for links to Imgur, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube.
Abbreviations in the quiz: What do MILF, IDK and Co mean?
What does “MILF” mean?
In addition to blocking link previews, WhatsApp offers other security settings that you should activate – such as protecting your IP address during phone calls.
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