WhatsApp will soon help you spot misinformation – here’s how

A move against the spread of fakery

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

WhatsAppis adding a new feature to make it easier to check received images for authenticity in an effort to combat the proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, and misleading content.

A new update will enable users to accessGooglereverse image search from within WhatsApp directly, which may in turn provide context and any evidence of manipulation or misleading the audience.

This update ostensibly aims to give users quick access to a basic form of fact-checking in an era where online misinformation presents as a major issue.

The feature was found byWaBetaInfoin a scan of the latest test build (version 2.24.23.13) of the Android version of WhatsApp – we aren’t sure yet whether the new feature will be coming to iOS.

To access the new feature, users simply need to open the image from the WhatsApp chat, tap the options menu represented by three vertical dots, and select “search on web”.

It’s important to note that this won’t always return contextual information – this is more of a benefit of Google’s reverse image search than a guaranteed effect, and the function may just return similar images.

And asAndroid Authoritynotes, the feature being hidden away in the options menu means it might take a while before reverse image searching becomes standard procedure – not that it should be considered the end-point of fact checking either.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

WhatsApp is well-known for its approach to privacy, and all messages sent through to platform are sent with end-to-end encryption.

As a pop-up note states when the feature is activated, images processed through the new reverse-search feature are shared with Google but not with WhatsApp directly.

The new Search on web feature is currently rolling out to beta testers, but we expect to see widespread availability soon.

For the latest official updates as we hear them, be sure to keep up with our dedicatedWhatsApp coverage, andAndroid coverage.

You might also like

Jamie is a Mobile Computing Staff Writer for TechRadar, responsible for covering phones and tablets. He’s been tech-obsessed from a young age and has written for various news and culture publications. Jamie graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Since starting out as a music blogger in 2020, he’s worked on local news stories, finance trade magazines, and multimedia political features. He brings a love for digital journalism and consumer technology to TechRadar. Outside of the TechRadar office, Jamie can be found binge-watching tech reviews, DJing in local venues around London, or challenging friends to a game of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Google Messages on Android could soon get a big photo-sharing boost

This could be the date when Google launches Android 16 – and here’s what’s coming

Best CDN provider of 2024