News: 0177111925

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WhatsApp Blocks People From Exporting Your Entire Chat History (theverge.com)

(Wednesday April 23, 2025 @11:30PM (BeauHD) from the what-happens-in-WhatsApp-stays-in-WhatsApp dept.)


WhatsApp is rolling out a new " [1]Advanced Chat Privacy " feature that [2]blocks others from exporting chat histories or automatically downloading media . While it doesn't stop screenshots or manual downloads, it marks the first step in WhatsApp's plan to enhance in-chat privacy protections. The Verge reports:

> By default, WhatsApp saves photos and videos in a chat to your phone's local storage. It also lets you and your recipients export chats (with or without media) to your messages, email, or notes app. The Advanced Chat Privacy setting will prevent this in group and individual chats. [...] WhatsApp says this is its "first version" of the feature, and that it plans to add more protections down the line.

>

> "We think this feature is best used when talking with groups where you may not know everyone closely but are nevertheless sensitive in nature," WhatsApp says in its announcement. WABetaInfo first spotted this feature earlier this month, and now it's rolling out to the latest version of the app. You can turn on the setting by tapping the name of your chat and selecting Advanced Chat Privacy.



[1] https://blog.whatsapp.com/introducing-advanced-chat-privacy

[2] https://www.theverge.com/news/654592/whatsapp-advanced-chat-privacy-block-exporting-chats


They get to keep a copy of all my messages? (Score:3)

by n0w0rries ( 832057 )

They get to keep a copy of all my messages, but I don't? That hardly seems fair.

I was dealing with a psycho girl I was dating, and exported our chat to protect myself from any potential drama down the line. I'm sure she will benefit from this new feature.

I'll have to take a closer look at signal. I think my phone is my phone, and I should be able to save what's on it, or screenshot what's on it.

When you take my basic abilities away, I look for alternatives.

Re: (Score:3)

by piojo ( 995934 )

There is a generalization: women fear direct violence from men; men fear state violence from women. Not being able to export messages is a self defense problem for men.

* I know some people will find it ridiculous and offensive that I'm comparing legal trouble to physical violence. To those people, I am glad you and yours have not been made to suffer in this way.

Re: (Score:3)

by dinfinity ( 2300094 )

I use an Android device. I regularly copy (no root required), decrypt and backup the Whatsapp message database. Decryption can be done with open source tools.

The only thing you have to do is regenerate the encryption key if you haven't stored it already: [1]https://faq.whatsapp.com/49059... [whatsapp.com]

[1] https://faq.whatsapp.com/490592613091019

Re: (Score:2)

by FudRucker ( 866063 )

Hegseth was using Signal messaging app

Re: (Score:2)

by martin-boundary ( 547041 )

It's ok, Hegseth doesn't care if other people can read his messages!

Bet... (Score:2)

by devslash0 ( 4203435 )

...all the spy agencies will have backdoors anyway.

useless feature (Score:3)

by FudRucker ( 866063 )

every time i see messages from people posted on Bluesky and 4chan (before it was killed) they were always screenshots

If a person (a) is poorly, (b) receives treatment intended to make him better,
and (c) gets better, then no power of reasoning known to medical science can
convince him that it may not have been the treatment that restored his health.
-- Sir Peter Medawar, The Art of the Soluble