WhatsApp brings new feature to silence incoming calls – Times of India

WhatsApp is getting a new feature that will automatically silence incoming calls from numbers that are not in the users’ contact list. The Meta-owned instant messaging app is also getting a Privacy Checkup that will allow users to choose the right level of protection for their accounts.
“You can now automatically silence incoming calls from unknown contacts on WhatsApp for even more privacy and control,” MetaCEO Mark Zuckerberg said on his Instagram Channel.While the company hasn’t mentioned the platforms on which the feature is available, it is likely that both Android smartphones and iPhones are getting it.
Silence Unknown Callers
Silence Unknown Callers feature is aimed at providing privacy and more control with respect to incoming calls, to WhatsApp users. The company said that the feature will automatically screen out spam, scams and calls from ‘unknown people’ for increased protection.

This means that these calls will not ring on the phone but will be visible in the Call list, in case it turns out to be someone important whose number you haven’t saved. The feature comes soon after users in India complained about an increase in spam calls on WhatsApp. India is the app’s largest market with over 500 million users.
To enable this feature, users can go to Settings > Privacy > Calls and select the “Silence unknown caller” option.
Last month, WhatsApp said it quickly ramped up its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems to bring down international scam call incidents by at least 50%.

Privacy Checkup
WhatApp’s Privacy Settings feature will help users choose the right level of protection from one place. Users can check and set privacy settings, including choosing who can contact them, controlling personal info, adding more privacy to chats and protecting accounts.
In order to tweak privacy settings, users can select ‘Start checkup’ in their Privacy Settings. The app will navigate them through multiple privacy layers allowing them to strengthen the security of messages, calls and personal information.
Notably, WhatsApp the new features add to the already available tools that WhatsApp offers to protect the privacy of messages. For example, WhatsApp has been talking extensively about end-to-end encryption, Chat Lock, Disappearing Messages, screenshot blocking for View Once, and the ability to keep your online presence private.