New Delhi, July 20: WhatsApp announced on Friday that it is launching a test to limit forwarding on the messaging app in India. In a statement, Whatsapp said, "In India - where people forward more messages, photos, and videos than any other country in the world - we will also test a lower limit of 5 chats at once and we'll remove the quick forward button next to media messages."
This comes after the Indian government mounted pressure on social media sites and messaging apps to regulate norms accordingly to handle the menace of rumours and fake news on its platform. WhatsApp, in the statement, said that these changes will help keep the messaging app the way it was originally designed to be: a private messaging app.
It also noted that the app is end-to-end encrypted to ensure safety and privacy. Earlier this month, WhatsApp had added a new feature to its platform to make it easier for users to identify messages or content which is being circulated across groups and individual chats by labelling them 'Forwarded'.
WhatsApp has been at the centre of many controversies for allegedly being a platform being used to spread 'fake news'.