Mark Zuckerberg has announced a crucial improvement for WhatsApp: silencing unknown callers. Users can now set whether or not they want to stop unknown callers from being able to ring their device in order to better protect themselves from spam and fraud.
WhatsApp has been developing this new feature since at least early March 2023. And when we checked, we found this useful update was already available on our phone, but you may need to update the app or wait until it rolls out: not all phones have the option just yet.
How the new mute function works
In its blog post published in June 2023, WhatsApp explained the new feature in more detail.
With the new Call setting option “Silence unknown callers”, you can protect yourself from spam and scams, and automatically filter out calls from unknown persons from the outset. These calls will then be displayed in your call list, but your phone won’t ring.
To activate the new function
You can activate the new function “Silence Unknown Callers ” in the WhatsApp app under “Settings, Privacy, Calls” by moving the slider accordingly.
Also new: Privacy Checkup
WhatsApp is also introducing a Privacy checkup, because it wants all users to know about the security options WhatsApp offers.
The new feature walks you through important privacy settings step by step and helps you choose the appropriate level of protection – all in one place in the app, which is certainly a plus. When you select “Start checkup” at the top of your privacy settings, you will be walked through several privacy precautions that increase the security of your messages, calls and personal data.
You can find the new privacy checkup in WhatApp under “Settings, Privacy” prominently at the top.
This article originally appeared in German on PCWelt.
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Author: Hans-Christian Dirscherl, Managing Editor, PC-WELT
Hans-Christian Dirscherl began his IT life with Autoexec.bat and config.sys, Turbo-Pascal and C, Sinix and Wordperfect. He has been writing on almost all IT topics for around 25 years, covering everything from news to reviews and buying guides.