A new message has been circulating about WhatsApp. The message reads, “Two blue ticks, and one red tick means the government can take action against, while three red ticks will mean that the government has started court proceedings against you.” It is important to know that this claim is absolutely fake and WhatsApp has not implemented any new communication rules and there is no such feature as three red tick or three blue ticks.
This comes at a time when WhatsApp is engaged in a controversy with the Indian government over privacy issues and new IT rules. The Facebook-owned app has moved court against the government of India’s new IT rules, which include a traceability clause. While the traceability rules are being challenged, users should note that WhatsApp remains private and end-to-end encrypted meaning no third party, be it Facebook or WhatsApp or even the government, can read your messages.
The viral message, which has the ‘forwarded many times label’ reads that once the new rules are implemented, all calls will be recorded and social media accounts will also be monitored. It says if a user shares a negative message against the government or on a religious issue, then the user will get arrested.
All these claims are fake and users should not forward this message.
A similar three red ticks message had gone viral last year and was debunked last year as well.
What is end-to-end encryption?
End-to-end encryption means that your messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and you have the special key needed to unlock and read them. You can verify if the messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted by visiting the profile of an individual.
How can you check end-to-end encryption?
Tap on “Encryption.” You can then scan the code or compare the 60-digit numbers with the recipient. If the result is similar, then it means your messages are secured.
The codes are unique to each contact.
In case you get a “security code changed” notification on WhatsApp, then it means that your contact reinstalled WhatsApp or changed phones.
