WhatsApp Starts Blocking Screenshots Of Profile Pictures

The Meta-owned company announced working on screenshot blocking for profile pictures back in February 2024. The company seems to be testing this feature with a server-side push. It is pertinent to mention here that Meta has not announced the feature’s rollout officially yet. However, some reports popped up claiming that some users are unable to take a screenshot of the display picture of their WhatsApp contacts on the latest stable build of the app. The Meta-owned platform shows an error saying it can’t take a screenshot due to app restrictions.

Screenshot blocking will be enabled by default. However, things may change when Meta rolls out the feature publicly. You will still be able to take a screenshot of the mini popup that appears when you tap on a contact’s display photo from the chat list. You can click a picture of the profile photo from another phone’s camera. Otherwise, WhatsApp Web or the desktop app can help you to take a screenshot of the person’s display picture from your PC.

Once screenshot blocking for profile pictures rolls out, WhatsApp will have an edge over other messaging apps. Signal is a more privacy-focused communication platform, however, it does not prevent users from taking screenshots of display pictures. Even Telegram lacks this feature to prevent profile picture screenshots. So. it is a welcoming change seeing the rise of scammers on WhatsApp.