US company-owned encrypted instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, has said it will be limiting how often messages can be forwarded.
The company said the step was imperative to stem the growing trend of misinformation from spiking on its platform.
WhatsApp announced on Tuesday that “frequently forwarded” messages, which it defines as messages that have already been forwarded on five times, will be limited so users can only forward them to one chat at a time. The aim is to stop rumors from spreading exponentially on the messaging service.
With the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook has been faced with an onslaught of misinformation about the virus proliferating on its platforms. For Facebook and Instagram the company has implemented tighter rules on banning or removing posts that contain misinformation.
WhatsApp has historically been harder for the company to regulate as the messages sent over it are encrypted, meaning Facebook has no access to them and is unable to stop them spreading between recipients.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation. We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation,” WhatsApp said in its announcement blog post.