Archive · 31 Aug 2026
WhatsApp Begins Android Beta Testing of Scam Alert Feature
WhatsApp is testing a new tool that can warn people about possible scams.
It is being tested by a small group of Android beta users.
The tool checks messages from people who are not saved in a user's contacts.
It looks for patterns that are often seen in scams.
The checking happens on the user's phone instead of automatically sending the messages to Meta.
If a message looks suspicious, only the recipient sees a warning.
The recipient can keep talking, or block and report the account.
If the warning is incorrect, the conversation can be marked as trusted.
Users may also choose to send their last five messages to WhatsApp to help improve the system.
WhatsApp is testing Scam Alert with a small number of Android beta users.
The optional feature analyzes messages from unknown contacts for scam-related behavior patterns.
On-device machine learning classifies suspicious messages without automatically sending their content to Meta.
Users can continue chatting, or block and report accounts flagged by the system.
A wider release date has not been announced, and the feature is available to select testers in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.34.1.
- Who
- WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is testing the feature with selected Android beta users.
- What
- An optional Scam Alert tool identifies possible scam patterns in messages from unknown contacts.
- When
- The feature is being tested in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.34.1; no public release date has been announced.
- Where
- The feature is available in WhatsApp beta for Android, with the machine-learning analysis performed on the user's device.
- Why
- It is intended to give users an additional warning before they interact with potential fraudsters while preserving end-to-end encryption.
- Feature
- WhatsApp Scam Alert
- Testing group
- A small number of selected Android beta users
- Beta version
- WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.34.1
- Activation
- Users must manually enable it under Settings > Account
- Detection method
- On-device machine learning analyzes messages from unknown contacts
- User actions
- Users can continue the conversation, or block and report the account
- Release status
- A wider rollout date has not been announced