WhatsApp’s latest privacy campaign highlights built-in layers of protection

HS Prannoy talks about the famous WhatsApp group chat that helped in India's Thomas Cup Win.

WhatsApp today launched the second film, part of its ongoing privacy campaign in India, focused on message privacy and WhatsApp’s interlocking layers of protection that come together to offer users more control and privacy over their conversations.

The film follows the launch of WhatsApp’s global brand campaign earlier in August that underscores WhatsApp’s built-in layers of privacy protections added over the years and how multiple privacy features enable and empower people to have meaningful conversations in their most vulnerable moments.

Conceptualized by WhatsApp and directed by Jess Kohl, the film features HS Prannoy, star player of the Indian badminton team that created history by winning the Thomas Cup title in May this year. The film captures the essence of privacy and how the team’s WhatsApp group, ingeniously called, “It’s coming home” gave them a safe and private space where they could not only strategize their game plan but also share their feelings in moments of self doubt. The film highlights WhatsApp’s privacy controls like end-to-end encrypted video calls, privacy settings like last seen and hidden online presence that promise users the privacy and security to share their most vulnerable moments and dreams that are larger than life, empowering them to live their dreams in private until they're ready to be shared with the world.

Talking about the campaign, Avinash Pant, director - marketing at Meta India, said, “WhatsApp’s mission is to connect the world privately and this campaign highlights the multiple ways we defend privacy so users can feel free and confident with their messages. Through this film we want to celebrate our national champions who brought home the coveted Thomas Cup and demonstrate how WhatsApp provided them a safe space where they felt empowered to have private conversations even during vulnerable moments because they knew their messages were always protected and secure, no matter where they are. We want to show people the closeness that’s possible with WhatsApp’s built-in layers of protection without compromising on the assurance of privacy and personal space to live your dreams in private until they're ready to be shared with the world.”

Commenting on the film, HS Prannoy, Thomas Cup Champion, said, “Being a part of the Thomas Cup squad was an honour and I knew to win the title as a team, we had to communicate as a team and go through those moments of hardship, emotional vulnerability, self-doubt together. WhatsApp was that safe space for us where we could have conversations, strategize and share our most private moments, thoughts and ambitions, away from the public eye. Every time I looked at the WhatsApp group name “It’s coming home” it gave me the confidence and fervour to make my dreams a reality. In a country that loves cricket my dream was to make people love badminton as much as I do and to inspire the next generation of players to believe in themselves and the sport.”

Over the last month, WhatsApp has launched an integrated brand campaign, including innovative print, OOH and digital activations to create awareness about the privacy features available on WhatsApp that provide users multiple layers of protection when messaging.

WhatsApp’s built-in layers of protection and privacy controls include:

1. Leave Groups Silently: Users will be able to exit a group privately without having to notify everyone.

2. Choose Who Can See When You’re Online: For the times you want to keep your online presence private, WhatsApp is introducing the ability to select who can and can’t see when you’re online.

3. Screenshot Blocking for View Once Messages: WhatsApp is enabling screenshot blocking for View Once messages for an added layer of protection. This feature is being tested and will be rolled out to users soon.

4. Default E2EE: WhatsApp always protects your personal conversations with end-to-end encryption by default (regardless of device) so that no one, not even WhatsApp, except your intended recipient can see or hear your private personal conversations.

5. Encrypted Backups: WhatsApp offers the ability to backup your chat history with end-to-end encryption so it’s secure and only accessible to you with a password or encryption key. No other messaging service at our scale provides this level of additional security for your messages.

6. Disappearing Messages: WhatsApp’s disappearing messages offer peace of mind with the ability to set durations for disappearing messagings: 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days so users can send photos and videos that disappear after they have been opened.

7. Block and Report: Users can choose to stop receiving messages and calls from certain contacts by blocking them and reporting them if they are sending problematic content or spam.

8. Two-step Verification: For more protection, the two-step verification feature gives users the option to set a unique six-digit PIN that can be used when registering your phone number with WhatsApp again. This optional feature adds another layer of security to their WhatsApp account.