WhatsApp Introduces 'Safety Overview' to Boost Group Chat Security, Bans 6.8 Million Scam Accounts
WhatsApp adds ‘Safety Overview’ to protect users in group chats and bans 6.8 million scam accounts in latest crackdown on fraud and spam.
WhatsApp rolls out 'Safety Overview' to protect users from unknown group adds; over 6.8 million scam accounts banned in 2025 crackdown.
The 'Safety Overview' tool, which WhatsApp recently introduced, is designed to combat online scams and improve user protection in group chats. Important tools are introduced in this August 2025 update to provide users more transparency when they are added to groups they are not familiar with, especially by contacts they do not know.
WhatsApp claims that it will now provide important details, such as the name of the group administrator or originator and the total number of participants, to assist users in determining the legality of a group when a user is added to it without any common connections. A larger effort to stop spam, phishing, and dishonest group additions includes this measure.
The messaging behemoth, which is owned by Meta, stressed that user safety and privacy are still crucial to its platform. With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, WhatsApp is working harder to protect its user base worldwide from misuse. WhatsApp has said that, in addition to the new safety features, it banned more than 6.8 million accounts linked to scam activities in the first half of 2025, many of which were operated by Southeast Asian criminal networks.
WhatsApp said in a statement, "We proactively detected and removed accounts before scam centres could activate them," adding that many of these activities were connected to organised crime and forced labour.
A New One-on-One Chat Feature Is Being Tested
Along with the update for group safety, WhatsApp is also testing a new private chat option. Users will be notified when they start a chat with someone who is not on their contact list by this new feature, which will provide more information about the unknown person to assist them decide whether to continue.
The platform's dedication to strengthening user control while battling disinformation, manipulation, and fraud is demonstrated by these improvements, which expand upon WhatsApp's current end-to-end encryption infrastructure.
