Remember how things were more than 10 years ago?
The term “SMS” was slang for “messaging on the phone”.
“SMS me” was a common phrase. But technology moves forward. Just as how the term “SMS” replaced “pager”, a time came where another, younger and more beautiful, to cast it down and take all that it holds dear.
WhatsApp was released in 2009, storming the smartphone app industry and taking over as the primary messaging service. To this day, it remains one of the most downloaded apps of all time on both iOS and Android.
WhatsApp Spam
But popularity always comes with a cost. As with many popular social media and online platforms, WhatsApp has been repeatedly abused by spammers mainly for advertising. How many times have you received such messages?
Advertisement spam from random unknown numbers.
Or the even more annoying form where they add multiple numbers into the same group, send the advertising message, then remove everyone again.
WhatsApp Taking Action
The firm is taking a firm stand (pun intended) against spam messages, claiming to have zero tolerance for it as their app is “meant to be used as a private messaging platform or for companies to interact with customers”.
They have apparently added new measures to identify accounts misusing WhatsApp, “which helps us ban two million accounts globally per month”.
The messaging service will focus on stopping the abuse by spammers who send a vast amount of messages to particular users. “WhatsApp was designed for private messaging, so we’ve taken action to prevent bulk messaging and enforce limits on how WhatsApp can be used“, according to a spokesperson.
Legal Action
An updated page on their website states:
“Beginning on December 7 2019, WhatsApp will take legal action against those we determine are engaged in or assisting others in the abuse that violates our terms of service, such as automated or bulk messaging”
WhatsApp has also promised to consider legal action regardless of whether the decision is made based on “information solely available to us off our platform”.
So for those
who like to
send messages
like this
to their friends
Maybe you’re in trouble.
I’m kidding. Their measures appear to be more focused on spam bots which sends the same messages to multiple users.
Previously on WhatsApp
Earlier this year, WhatsApp also had confirmed to limit the number of times users can forward a single message to 5 in an attempt to dissuade the spread of false information.
I don’t know about you, but I’m really happy about this.
I’m so tired of getting excited when my phone vibrates, thinking that it’s my crush replying me, but it turns out to be a message asking me to call ‘Michael’ for the ‘most trusted agent’ for sports betting and getting rich quick.
And it also turns out that she blue ticked me. Sobs.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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