A similar feature has been available for Android smartphone users for a while.
After a massive UI overhaul and introduction of AI features, Meta continues to test new features on WhatsApp, and the company is currently testing a feature that prevents iPhone users from taking screenshots of a user’s profile photo to further enhance the privacy of its users.
As reported by WABetaInfo, this feature is already available on the latest version of WhatsApp beta for iOS (version 24.10.10.70), which can be installed via the TestFlight app. This feature is already live on the Android platform, where, when a user tries to take a photo of the profile picture, it says, “This app does not allow screenshots.”
When a user on an iPhone tries to take a screenshot of the profile picture, WhatsApp will say “Screenshot capture blocked,” and “To protect everyone’s privacy on WhatsApp, this screenshot has been blocked.”
WhatsApp also gives an option to users, where one can configure who can see the profile picture and who cannot, and there is an option to hide the profile picture from unknown numbers. With the upcoming update, while one will be able to see a public profile picture on WhatsApp, it will prevent users from taking the screenshot of the same.
This feature will be enabled by default and cannot be disabled, and the same is expected to be made available for stable users in the next few weeks.
WhatsApp has been introducing a lot of new security-related features to make it a safe platform, and it also offers capabilities like end-to-end encryption and encrypted chat backup, hence, no one else can access chats and media shared on WhatsApp.