WhatsApp could soon enable users to ‘dismiss’ fellow group chat administrators in a weird sort of chat app regicide.
The feature, currently being tested within the latest iOS/Android beta, will make it easier to reduce the powers of admins to mere contributors.
Group admins are the only people with the power to remove people from the chats.
Admins will be able to tap Group Info in order to access the savage new option, according to screenshots posted by WABetaInfo.
Related: How to use WhatsApp Unsend Message
Currently, the only way to demote a group chat overlord is to remove them from the group and then re-add them as a regular participant. If this feature makes it into the main app, it will at least streamline the awkwardness of the process.
Whether the company rolls the feature into the main app is unclear. The Facebook-owned app is constantly testing new features, some of which never make it to the billion-strong user base.
Secret backdoor?
Earlier this week, news emerged of a bug that allowed people to sneak into private chats without the necessary permissions.
A flaw in the way the application interacts with the Facebook-controlled servers makes it possible to slide into group chats without an invite. This enables the intruder to bypass WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption of all chats, leading to fears of snooping.
“The confidentiality of the group is broken as soon as the uninvited member can obtain all the new messages and read them,” explained Paul Rösler, one of the Ruhr University researchers.
“If I hear there’s end-to-end encryption for both groups and two-party communications, that means adding of new members should be protected against. And if not, the value of encryption is very little,” he added.
In a tweet, Facebook’s chief security officer seemed to play down the vulnerability, suggesting there “isn’t a secret way” into chats.
In sum, the clear notifications and multiple ways of checking who is in your group prevents silent eavesdropping. The content of messages sent in WhatsApp groups remain protected by end-to-end encryption.
— Alex Stamos (@alexstamos) January 10, 2018
Are there any group admins you’re itching to demote to the rank and file? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
