WhatsApp, an instant messaging service, will provide users with the ability to report and permanently mute contact statuses, a feature that has been absent from the service since its launch.

It is anticipated that the feature will allow users to report status updates that may violate WhatsApp's Terms of Service.

According to WABetaInfo, an independent WhatsApp reporting blog, the company's moderation team receives reported statuses.

If you see a new "report" action in the status options, this feature is enabled for your account. According to WABetaInfo, if you report a status update, it will be forwarded to WhatsApp for moderation purposes.

“If it violates their Terms of Service, the account may be suspended from using WhatsApp.”

The introduction of the new feature could see users being suspended or even banned if reported by their contacts, who may dislike or be offended by the statuses they post.

Despite this, it is speculated that the upcoming feature is expected not to compromise end-to-end encryption, as this protects messages and calls on all devices, and it is widely regarded as a key functionality of the platform amid growing global concerns over data privacy.

“This means that no one else, not even WhatsApp, Meta, and a proxy provider, can read your personal messages and listen to your private calls. A similar report feature is not so unusual as other instant messaging apps have similar report features to keep the platform and users safe,” WABetaInfo reported.

Permanently muting statuses

Accompanying speculation of the upcoming status-reporting feature is the ability for users to mute statuses from contacts within their message notifications, a feature previously released by WhatsApp.

“WhatsApp had already released this feature in 2017, although the mute button was only visible when receiving many messages from a contact or group. After this update, the mute button is always visible in any circumstance,” WABetaInfo said.

* If any of the new features mentioned above are yet to be available for you, it probably has yet to be rolled out for your device. It should be visible for all users within the coming weeks after the latest update.

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