WhatsApp on Tuesday said it is placing new limits on the forwarding of messages. From today, messages that have been identified as “highly forwarded” — sent through a chain of 5 or more people — can only be forwarded to a single person. The move, said WhatsApp on its official blog, was to “reduce the speed” with which information moved through WhatsApp, in today’s day & age of the coronavirus pandemic.
WhatsApp took pains to explain that forwarding of messages was “not a bad thing”.
However, 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
