WhatsApp is testing a new ‘Search Image’ feature to combat fake news

In its effort to tackle its fake news problem, WhatsApp could be getting ready to introduce a new ‘Search Image’ feature. The said feature has been reportedly spotted in the WhatsApp beta version of some Android devices. However, it is still in development and not available to all users yet.

As reported by WABetaInfo, the Search Image feature in WhatsApp will allow users to search for a selected image on the internet. This feature will be powered by Google Search and will instantly upload the selected image on Google to perform a reverse image search. This will certainly help users to track down the source of the image, and thus also enables social media users to combat fake news.

It must be noted that WhatsApp is still developing the Search Image feature and it is probably available on beta versions. The report affirms that it should be made available once the tests are complete and it will work in a simple yet effective way. In order to check whether this update is available to your Android device, go to Play Store and install the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.19.73 and then confirm the version by going into the Help > App info section. If you are running the latest version of WhatsApp and still not have received this update then probably it’s not available in your region yet.

During the last ten years, since the inception of WhatsApp, the number of monthly active users on this easy-to-use messaging forum are increasing day by day, as the number reached around 1.5 billion users this year. Having such a large user base also lead the social network to encounter fake news problem quite often.

In addition to this, the WABetaInfo also reports that WhatsApp has introduced a transgender flag in the latest beta release of WhatsApp for Android. You can opt-in for the beta on the Play Store or get the latest APK from here.