SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook-owned mobile messaging platform WhatsApp announced on Monday it was restricting how many times any given message can be forwarded in an effort to boost privacy and security.
In July, WhatsApp rolled out safeguards in India that included limiting the number of users to whom a message can be forwarded. It also ran newspaper ads to raise awareness about fake news.
That decision followed threats by the Indian government to take action after crazed mobs butchered more than 20 people accused of child kidnapping and other crimes in viral, widely-circulated WhatsApp messages.
WhatsApp said its latest move to extend the restrictions to all users came after a six-month review of user feedback.
"Starting today, all users on the latest versions of WhatsApp can now forward to only five chats at once, which will help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts."
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