Meta's WhatsApp onboards Anushka Sharma to drive awarness around privacy feature for women

Meta-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has introduced a new private messaging feature with the aim to encourage women to connect and offer support to each other, enabling them to speak up about their concerns.

The company revealed that these messages will be displayed on special mirrors placed in restrooms at selected locations in Delhi. Similar to disappearing messages, these mirrored messages will vanish without leaving any trace.

To inaugurate this initiative, WhatsApp has partnered with renowned actor Anushka Sharma to launch a series of mirrored messages that will appear in private spaces within women's restrooms in malls across Delhi.

The company said the collaboration seeks to create a safe and supportive environment for women, enabling them to share their thoughts and experiences.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Anushka Sharma, said, “Women don’t always feel safe to speak up about issues they’re facing, however they tend to open up with a friend who reaches out to them, privately. I’ve partnered with WhatsApp to drive awareness around the importance of having a secure space for women to confide in others and how a private conversation can be empowering for women to speak up and seek help when their safety and well-being might be at risk. I truly feel it is important to check in on a friend, colleague, loved one, especially if you haven’t heard from them in a while and that one private message can be a lifeline. I am happy to be a part of this campaign that can be a safe space for women to open up.”

In conjunction with this launch, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has announced an additional privacy feature called "Silence Unknown Callers." This feature is designed to assist users in screening out spam, scams, and calls from unfamiliar individuals. It offers users greater control over their incoming calls, ensuring a more secure and peaceful communication experience.

Furthermore, WhatsApp is rolling out another feature called "Privacy Checkup." This step-by-step tool will guide users through important privacy settings on the platform, allowing them to select the desired level of protection. By consolidating these settings into a single location, WhatsApp aims to make it easier for users to safeguard their privacy.

Sandhya Devanathan, vice president of Meta India, said, “At WhatsApp, we believe protecting users’ personal conversations with their family and friends is the most important type of privacy we can give them. We’re thrilled to add two new privacy-first features that further strengthen and add to WhatsApp’s built-in layers of protection to offer users a safe space to have their most private conversations. Through the series of mirrored messages, we’re spreading the word on the importance of checking in on a friend or a loved one, encouraging women to reach out and support each other to speak up. We hope it helps start important conversations on WhatsApp, which always start with a single private message.”

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