Meta, formerly Facebook, has announced a trio of upcoming privacy changes for WhatsApp.

The social media giant’s instant messaging service is introducing the new features to give users more control with added layers of protection, the company said.

Users will soon be able to exit a group chat privately. Instead of the whole group being notified when a user exits a group, only the group’s admins will be notified.

While it has been possible for WhatsApp users to elect not to notify someone if they have yet read their message for some time, the app is now introducing the further ability to select who can and cannot see when you are online.

WhatsApp is also implementing a ‘screenshot blocking’ function for its View Once messages – a pre-existing feature that deletes a shared photo or piece of media once it has been shared. Screenshot blocking will enable an extra layer of protection, the company said.

The new features will start to roll out to all users this month.

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