Government can now monitor WhatsApp chats? PIB fact checks

The government has debunked a viral message which is being circulated claiming that it has allegedly issued new WhatsApp guidelines to monitor chats. The Press Information Bureau or PIB has clarified that the claim that “three ticks appearing on WhatsApp chats would mean it is getting monitored”, is fake and no such guideline was issued about the instant messaging platform.

The government's clarification comes as a purported WhatsApp message is going viral. The message alerted users about what different check marks meant when they send or receive a text. The message purportedly claimed that a single check or tick on WhatsApp chats means the message is sent successfully, and a double tick means it has been delivered, and it turning blue means the chat has been read.

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'The viral claim is false'

However, the viral message claimed that if the ticks turn into “three blue checks” that means the government has taken note of the chats. It further claimed that two blue and one red ticks mean that the government can take action against the user; "one blue and two red ticks" means that the government is screening users' data; and "three red ticks" mean an action has been initiated against the users and they will face legal action.

Debunking the claim, the PIB said, “This message is FAKE. The Government has released no such guideline.” Notably, this viral claim had surfaced last year in August as well and the PIB had debunked the same.

The Meta-owned platform says its chats are ‘end-to-end encrypted’. “WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption is used when you chat with another person using WhatsApp Messenger. End-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you're communicating with can read or listen to what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp,” the platform read on its website.

The 'end-to-end encryption' is an automatic feature on the messaging platform and there is no need to turn on any special settings to secure personal WhatsApp chats.