The messaging company WhatsApp is officially testing its highly anticipated Scam Alert tool. It recently began rolling out the new security feature to a select group of Android beta users. Designed to protect people from fraudulent messages sent by unknown contacts, this tool offers an extra layer of defense against digital threats. The application developer plans to bring the update to a wider audience soon after the current testing phase concludes.
The new security tool analyzes messages locally for known threats
According to a recent report from WABetaInfo, the messaging app is introducing the optional security update in beta version 2.26.34.1. Once enabled in the account settings menu, the software uses a machine learning model to scan incoming texts from non-contacts.
Because the entire process happens locally on your phone, the contents of your messages never leave your device. Meta confirmed that the system does not break end-to-end encryption, ensuring your private conversations stay completely secure while the software searches for known fraud patterns.
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The platform gives users full control over flagged scam conversations
When the software spots a suspicious text, it immediately displays a warning label inside the chat. This alert is only visible to the person receiving the message, meaning the sender has no idea their text was flagged. From there, you can choose to block the unknown contact, report them directly to the company, or simply ignore the warning and continue chatting.
If the system makes a mistake, you can manually mark the chat as trusted. This action removes the warning and prevents the system from flagging that specific person again. You also get the option to voluntarily share the last five messages of a flagged chat to help the developer improve the accuracy of its detection model. While the current testing phase only targets Google devices, the developer will likely expand the feature to iOS in the near future.
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