Users need to have the latest supported version of WhatsApp to see the new forwarded label on their phones. Technology and policy experts remained divided in their first reactions to the new feature. Lawyer Apar Gupta said Whatsapp’s feature for flagging forwarded messages will at best indicate that the message has been idly sent through the forward function. “It has easy circumvention. One may be able to copy, paste it, then send it, hence avoiding the labelling. A single character change such as changing the capitalisation may defeat other protection measures as well”. Ananth Padmanabhan, fellow at Centre for Policy Research said he is not sure if this solution will work. “If people were aware enough to know the distinction between a forward and a direct message, they would also be likely aware of the falsity of several messages they receive on their phones. Moreover, if the message is suitably panicky, it is unlikely people would care whether it’s a forward or a direct one,” he added.
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