WhatsApp New Feature Red Tick Mark – Seen by Government: Fact Check

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WhatsApp to Launch a New Feature: Red Tick Mark – Seen by Government

Other Versions

Dear all,

Kindly, note when you send a message by WhatsApp, you see some tick marks. They, mean as follows.,

One mark means , message is sent

Two indicate… message has reached

Two blue ticks indicate.. the message has been read

Three blue ticks marks indicate that., Govt has noticed that the message

Two blue ticks and one red tick marks indicate that Govt can take action

One blue tick and two red ticks marks indicate that Govt. initiated action upon you for that message.

Three red ticks marks indicate that Govt. already taken action severe action upon you & shortly court summon will be coming to you for that message.

So, be careful about forwarding any messages related to social activities, politics & anti- government. messages

SO, BE VERY SAFE WITH WHATSAPP MESSAGES

Please, inform others too in your circle / group.

Fact Check:

Some messages viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms claim WhatsApp launched a new feature of Red Tick Mark in sent messages – indicating they are seen by Government. Other versions of the message explain about single and double tick marks (check marks) we already know. Further, they warn about new three tick marks including red ticks, indicating Government is monitoring your messages and will take severe legal action if needed. Thereby, the messages warn WhatsApp users to be careful about forwarding messages related to social activities, politics & anti-government. No, the claims are not true and explained here.

Messages About WhatsApp Red Tick Mark

The claims in question about tick marks are in fact referring to the Check Marks seen alongside messages sent on WhatsApp. Slightly different variants of the message are doing rounds on WhatsApp and social media platforms since at least 2018. They mention the Red tick mark as a new security feature of WhatsApp.

As of this writing, the current version of WhatsApp is using only one or two tick mark (check marks) using two colors Grey and Blue.

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You can read more about the check marks of messages in WhatsApp’s FAQ section. Unlike what the messages claim, there’s no use of three tick marks (check marks) in WhatsApp sent messages and no red tick mark for that matter.

Government Seeing Your Messages?

The messages mention different number red colored tick marks as an indication of Government seeing your WhatsApp messages and taking severe, legal action against you. However, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to secure communication between the two people or within a group. The default security configuration does not allow anyone in between, not even WhatsApp to read what is sent. Facebook owns WhatsApp and Government (India or other) cannot read the messages at the cost of user’s privacy on the instant-messaging platform.

These messages probably surfaced as a joke when fake news on WhatsApp was rampant, creating lot of confusion and social issues like lynching and deaths. After such issues in India and other countries, WhatsApp has made some changes to fight the spread of fake news.

To stop spreading of fake news forwarded within groups, WhatsApp conducts a background check to verify the authenticity of a website and alert user if it identifies something suspicious. WhatsApp will mark dubious website with a – Red label – indicating the message is either spam or a redirect to a fake website. As per reports, WhatsApp introduced the Suspicious Link Detection feature for Beta users around July 2018.

To conclude, you need not worry about the fake warning messages saying Government is reading your WhatsApp messages. However, it is important to be socially responsible and not forward any malicious messages or fake news.

Hoax or Fact:

Hoax.