WhatsApp has officially introduced a new feature, Advanced Chat Privacy, aimed at giving users greater control over how their messages and media are handled in both private and group chats. Initially leaked earlier this month, the feature has now been made available to all users.

When enabled, Advanced Chat Privacy prevents others in a conversation from exporting chats, disables the automatic downloading of media to their devices, and restricts the use of messages in AI-powered features within WhatsApp. However, the tool does not currently block screenshots, a limitation WhatsApp has yet to address.

According to WhatsApp, this feature is particularly valuable for group chats where participants may not know each other personally, such as health support groups or community organisation chats.

Advanced Chat Privacy provides users with a higher degree of security over their messages after they are sent.

To activate the feature, users must open a chat, tap on the chat name at the top, and find the Advanced Chat Privacy option within the settings.

The feature must be enabled individually for each chat, as it does not apply universally across all conversations.

WhatsApp has indicated that this is the first iteration of the Advanced Chat Privacy tool, with plans to introduce further enhancements and additional privacy controls in future updates.