WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature that appears to be aimed at preventing spam and nuisance callers on the popular communication platform. While WhatsApp is widely used across the world, the service is based on phone numbers and a person can call any other registered user, even if they do not have their contact saved in their address book. The new feature being developed by WhatsApp could prevent unwanted callers from disturbing users, when it is eventually rolled out by the company.
According to details shared by WABetaInfo, which tracks the development of features on the platform, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android contains code for a feature that will allow users to silence calls from unknown numbers. However, unlike other upcoming features that are currently available for testers to try out, this new feature appears to be in development.
The feature tracker has also shared a screenshot of the feature that shows a Silence unknown callers toggle located in the settings menu. Enabling the toggle will silence calls from phone numbers that are not saved in the users’ address book.
While this feature will purportedly silence calls from unknown users, they will still be displayed in the list of calls received and in the notification area, so a user is not completely unaware that an unknown caller has attempted to reach out to them.
The feature could come in handy to eliminate scam and spam calls on the service, and users can always choose to call an unknown caller back, if they leave a message. The feature tracker also points out that the setting could protect users in Communities where the phone number of the creator is always visible.
There is no word from WhatsApp on when it plans to introduce the new setting to silence unknown callers. While the feature has been spotted in development on Android, it is expected to make its way to iOS and the desktop app too. However, as the feature is still being worked on, it could be updated or modified before it is rolled out to all users.
