WhatsApp restricts forwarding of messages to five times to stop spread of fake news

WhatsApp issues new restriction limit on forwarding messages

Mark Mwithaga

January 21, 2019 7:22 PM

New limit announced

WhatsApp on Monday announced the limitation of sharing messages to five times.

The messaging company Vice-President for Policy and Communications Victoria Grand announced that the change would be implemented in the update of the application.

WhatsApp Head of Communication Carl Woog Pulse Live Kenya

Carl Woog who is the Head of Communication at the application company, explained the reduction from the initial 20 that was set globally, is termed as a way to stop the spread of fake news.

“We settled on five because we believe this is a reasonable number to reach close friends while helping prevent abuse,” remarked Woog.

This move comes after the mob killings in India as a result of messages that were used to incite people.

In July 2018, the company moved to reduce the limit for the Asian based country to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Discontinuation of application on specific phones

Aside from the limit, the popular messaging organisation three weeks ago, stated that specific specific phones would no longer be compatible with the application.

Nokia Asha 201 Pulse Live Kenya

On January 1, messaging services for Nokia Series 40 were discontinued.

Nokia S40 include devices such as Nokia Asha 201, Nokia Asha 205, Nokia Asha 210, Nokia Asha 230, Nokia Asha 500, Nokia Asha 501, Nokia Asha 502, Nokia Asha 503, Nokia 206, Nokia 208, Nokia 301, Nokia 515.

The statement that was posted on the firm’s website under FAQ further noted that Android versions 2.3.7 and older will be stopped as from February 1, 2020, while for iOS 7 and older will stay until February 1, 2020.

Mark Mwithaga