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We've all done it: wanted to share someone's profile picture on WhatsApp, without them knowing.
Maybe it was a forgotten childhood friend, maybe a new crush, or just curiosity about a person you added to the group.
Now, WhatsApp makes this task a little more difficult.
According to a report in Android Police, WhatsApp is rolling out a new update that will block the ability to take a screenshot of your contacts' profile picture.
According to the 9to5google website, no warning message appeared when trying to take a screenshot of a normal profile picture, and in the test we did in Vala!
Technology Any attempt to take a screenshot while viewing a full profile picture in full screen, ends with the message "This application does not allow screenshots".
However, despite this significant privacy change, it is still possible to take a screenshot of the thumbnail preview of the profile picture which can be expanded when viewing all WhatsApp conversations.
This is a lower resolution image than your full profile picture.
3D advertisement in Piccadilly Square in London for WhatsApp/WhatsApp private messages
Blocking screenshots of profile pictures on WhatsApp is apparently intended to prevent impersonation and other privacy issues.
Other messaging services that operate on multiple platforms, such as Telegram and Signal, do not currently offer this functionality.
To further improve privacy, you can hide your WhatsApp profile picture by going to Settings > Privacy > Profile Picture.
From there you can determine who will see your profile picture.
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