WhatsApp testing ‘suspicious link detection’ feature to curb fake news forwards and phishing attacks

In a bid to curb the menace of misinformation forwards, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has started testing a ‘suspicious link detection’ feature. The feature was made available in WhatsApp Android beta 2.18.204, to a limited bunch of users.

As reported by Wabetainfo - a WhatsApp news website - the feature is now available for all Android beta testers but requires an update to version 2.18.221.

The suspicious link indicator or a red suspicious link label will warn users of a link that might contain a “combination of characters that is considered unusual”.

The post stated that the “Spammers may use these character combinations to trick you into tapping on links that appear to go to a legitimate website, but actually take you to a malicious site.”

Since WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted (as announced by the company in 2014), the chat messenger automatically performs checks to determine if a link is suspicious and the checks take place on a user’s device for privacy reasons.

Once approved, through this newly added feature, WhatsApp alerts the reader stating “this link contains unusual characters. It may be trying to appear as another site.” From here, the user will have two options, either to open the link or to go back.

WhatsApp has launched this feature as part of its endeavor to identify and curb the forwards/ circulation of the links which direct the users to the alternate or fake websites.

The red label is expected to aid in the reduction of the circulation of messages that contain malicious links that are actually phishing attempts by hackers hidden behind a promise of free stuff, recharge coupons among others.