WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has recently launched a new feature aimed at protecting users from unwanted calls on their messaging platform. This feature allows users to easily silence calls from spam and nuisance callers by toggling a simple setting. By implementing this feature, WhatsApp aims to prevent disturbances caused by calls from unknown numbers that are not in a user's contact list. In the absence of this setting, WhatsApp users will still receive calls from any other WhatsApp user, even if they are not in their contact list.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday that WhatsApp users can now take advantage of the ability to silence incoming calls from unknown contacts. This feature, which had been previously spotted in development, has now started rolling out to all users. Gadgets 360 has verified that the setting is available in the latest stable versions of WhatsApp for both Android and iOS.
Once the feature is enabled, users will not be disturbed by calls from unknown contacts. However, the messaging app will still display the call in the notification area and within the app itself. This means that users will not miss calls from unknown individuals; the feature will simply prevent the phone from ringing and reduce unwanted disturbances caused by strangers.
Android users can activate the feature and toggling the "Silence unknown callers" option within the app. Similarly, iPhone users can open the settings menu by tapping on the gear icon in WhatsApp, selecting Privacy > Calls, and toggling the "Silence Unknown Callers" option.
The introduction of this feature comes after several users in India and other regions reported receiving spam calls from unknown numbers. Users took to Twitter to express their frustrations about receiving calls from unfamiliar numbers originating from countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. In response, Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated that the IT Ministry would send a notice to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp had previously announced plans to enhance its spam detection systems by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to reduce scam and spam calls by 50 percent. This new feature is a step towards minimizing the inconvenience faced by users due to unwanted calls on the messaging platform.