Fact check: Is the govt spying on your WhatsApp messages? PIB clears it out

PIB fact check confirms that rumours of red tick for a WhatsApp message are fake and the government is not spying on your chats.

PIB fact check confirms that rumours of red tick for a WhatsApp message are fake and the government is not spying on your chats. (REUTERS)

The PIB Fact Check's Twitter handle in its latest post has 'warned' users of rumours regarding the government screening your WhatsApp messages. Clearing the air, the handle tweets that WhatsApp is not showing three ticks for a message, with the third tick being that government has taken notice of that particular message. For those unaware, WhatsApp shows a single tick in front of a message when it is sent, two ticks when it is received by the other person and both of them turn Blue when the other person reads the message.

The Twitter handle also confirms that below mentioned rumours on WhatsApp are all fake and incorrect:

-2 Blue + 1 Red tick (meaning government can take action against you)

-1 Blue + 2 Red ticks (meaning government is screening your data)

-3 Red ticks (meaning the government has initiated action and the sender will receive summons from court)  

#Fake News Alert !

Messages circulating on Social Media reading 'WhatsApp info regarding √ tick marks' is #FAKE.#PIBFactCheck : No! The Government is doing no such thing. The message is #FAKE.

Beware of rumours! pic.twitter.com/GAGEnbOLdY

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 7, 2020

WhatsApp has become one of the easiest ways to spread fake information these days. And with Covid-19 cases on the rise, keeping the platform free from fake news and misinformation has become more vital than ever. So, to curb the easy spreading or forwarding of messages, WhatsApp today announced a new limit on chat forwards. The company is limiting frequently forwarded messages to one chat a time in attempts to curb the spread of Covid-19 misinformation. WhatsApp earlier let users send frequently forwarded messages to a maximum of five chats. It is also working on a feature that lets users verify forwarded messages.