April 24, 2025 – Lahore: WhatsApp recently presented a new privacy update stating that they have removed two of the most frequently used functions for user protection. “Advanced Chat Privacy” feature, which is now being rolled out worldwide, stops the chats from being archived or sends the files to your local storage.​

WhatsApp Removes Chat Export and Auto-Download Features in New Privacy Update

The goal of this upgrade is that give users more control over the content they share and that too especially if it’s part of some confidential chat or a group with people some of whom are unknown to you. By disabling the chat exports option, the messaging app is ensuring that chats do not go beyond the application and are, therefore, minimizing the likelihood of the conversations being shared in the first place. Equally, prohibiting the auto-downloads of media files is also a way to protect users against receiving unwelcome or unknown content.​

Furthermore, the update no longer allows Meta AI to mention the discussions held within the chats. Where people are now disallowed to mention or deal with Meta AI in conversations, the Advanced Chat Privacy feature has been enabled. Such a move fits in with the concerns about artificial intelligence in the private area, thereby securing the conversation as a strictly human affair.​

Also, these changes undoubtedly improve privacy; unfortunately, it is just crucial to point out that people can still save chats as screenshots. WhatsApp has even suggested of their intention to incorporate more robust protections in forthcoming releases, which could possibly be a way of limiting this.​

To enable Advanced Chat Privacy users simply find the chat you want to use, tap on the name of the chat and then change the setting (off/on). This is just one of the solutions WhatsApp is in the process of integrating to strengthen user privacy and security, which is expected to work alongside existing options, such as disappearing messages and chat locks.​

As digital communication develops, the latest update of WhatsApp shows a focus shift in favor of user privacy, increasing people’s role in their interactions’ privacy and control of the messages they share.