WhatsApp is working on a new feature, ‘Search on Web’ for Android users.

WhatsApp Testing 'Search on Web' Feature for Android Users to Enhance Information Access

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Omkar Devadkar

Last Updated: November 06, 2024

Summary: By making it simpler to search for suspicious pictures sent in chats, WhatsApp might be able to limit the spread of false information on the messaging app.

With only a few taps, users will be able to quickly search for a picture they got from another user thanks to a feature WhatsApp is currently testing. In order to help users detect false media, the messaging app is offering a new feature to beta testers: the ability to search for photographs in chats in reverse.

The feature is available to Android beta testers as of now, but it will eventually be made available to all users.

A new feature in the media viewer that appears when a picture is opened inside a chat will be available to beta testers with the most recent version of WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.23.13 (via feature tracker WABetaInfo).

Once the user confirms that they want to upload the image, the new feature does a reverse image search. If you want to try out the new feature, download the most recent WhatsApp beta version on your Android.

Open a received image on any chat and you will find this feature there in the media viewer. Once you open the image, click on the three vertical dots, and you will find the option ‘search on web.’

Even after updating to the most recent beta version, Gadgets 360 employees were unable to test the feature, suggesting that it was enabled via a server-side upgrade.

This new feature is beneficial to find out the source of an image immediately if you find it suspicious. Just with a few taps, you can identify similar or identical images on the web and know if they have been altered or edited in any way to spread misinformation.

The search on web feature relies on Google’s reverse image search engine, so note that WhatsApp users can use it at their own leisure. The messaging app claims that it does not have access to images before, during, or after they are submitted to Google for processing.

Some beta testers now have access to the reverse image lookup feature, which will be made accessible to all users at a later date.