WhatsApp is partnering up with actor Anushka Sharma to introduce a new privacy feature — mirrored messages in women's restrooms in some Delhi malls. In an effort to emphasise secure and confidential messaging, this new initiative helps women check in on each other privately.
Here's how it works.
The feature includes a series of mirrored messages appearing in private spaces i.e. women's restrooms across malls in Delhi. Triggered by motion, a message appears on the restroom mirror along with a QR code.
Scanning the QR code will provide the user suggestions for checking in via a private WhatsApp message. Similar to the disappearing messages feature, the mirrored message vanishes without a trace. WhatsApp has explained this process through a video advertisement here.
The initiative has been launched by WhatsApp in partnership with Sharma in an effort to promote private conversations.
According to a study commissioned by WhatsApp and conducted by YouGov, 73 percent of women worldwide and 68 percent of women in India expressed their willingness to discuss personal struggles privately when approached by a friend.
In a statement regarding the feature's release, Anushka Sharma highlighted the importance of secure communication spaces for women, stating that they often feel safer opening up privately.
"Women don’t always feel safe to speak up about issues they’re facing. However, they tend to open up with a friend who reaches out to them privately," Sharma said.
The campaign encourages checking in on friends, colleagues, and loved ones, with a single private message potentially serving as a lifeline.
Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President of Meta India, the parent company of WhatsApp, emphasised the company's commitment to protecting users' personal conversations.
"At WhatsApp, we believe protecting users’ personal conversations with their family and friends is the most important type of privacy we can give them," Devanathan said.
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The new privacy features strengthen WhatsApp's existing layers of protection and encourage important conversations, he added.
In addition to this campaign, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced the "Silence Unknown Callers" privacy feature, which helps users screen out spam, scams and calls from unknown numbers.
WhatsApp is also introducing "Privacy Checkup," a feature that guides users through configuring their privacy settings.
(Edited by : Pradeep John)
First Published: Jun 20, 2023 4:21 PM IST
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