Meta-backed WhatsApp has started testing an optional feature that allows users in India to add their date of birth as the messaging platform prepares for compliance with upcoming provisions of the country's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act relating to age verification, according to a report.
NDTV Profit reported that the company confirmed that the feature is being tested with a limited set of users after screenshots surfaced online showing a prompt asking users to "Add your date of birth", stating that upcoming laws in India require the platform to ask for users' age.
"To comply with upcoming laws in India like the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, we are testing privacy-protective ways for people to confirm their age," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
According to the company, the feature is currently optional and users do not need to provide their date of birth to continue using the messaging service during the testing phase.
"This doesn't change how WhatsApp works or your experience. We understand that information about someone's age is private and it won't be shared with other WhatsApp users," the spokesperson added, according to the report.
The move comes as India prepares to operationalise provisions of the DPDP Act that require platforms processing children's personal data to adopt age-verification measures to determine whether users are below 18 years of age.
The test also comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of Meta's operations in India. Earlier this week, Meta apologised after temporarily restricting a Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi related to examination paper leaks.
Separately, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked WhatsApp to delay the rollout of its username feature, which would allow users to connect without sharing mobile numbers, citing concerns over impersonation and digital fraud.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also making group chats more organised with a set of new features designed to help users make decisions faster and ensure important messages do not get lost.
Notably, some of these features are not entirely new to the app, as WhatsApp already had the @all mention and polls. The latest update improves these existing features while also introducing an easier way to create new group chats from existing ones.
WhatsApp is making polls more useful with three new changes. Users can now set an end time for a poll, after which voting will automatically close. This can be useful when a group needs to make a decision by a specific deadline.
The company is also allowing users to hide voter names in polls. This means other members of the group will not be able to see who voted for which option, making it easier for people to share their preferences without worrying about how others might react.
There is also an option to edit poll questions within 15 minutes of creating them. So, if users spot a typo or realise that the question needs a little clarification, they can fix it without creating a new poll.
Another major addition is the @all mention. For larger groups with more than 32 members, the @all option will be available only to admins. WhatsApp also says users can control how they receive these notifications and can mute @all alerts through the notification settings.
WhatsApp is also making it easier to start a smaller conversation within a larger group. Users can now create a new group chat with people from an existing group in just a tap, without having to manually add each person.
This could be useful when a large group needs a separate conversation for a specific purpose. For example, a group planning a surprise party can quickly create a smaller chat for organisers, while members coordinating an event can move their discussion to a separate group without disturbing the main conversation.
WhatsApp says these changes build on other group chat features introduced earlier this year, including group message history, member tags and event reminders.
