WhatsApp is moving closer to a wider rollout of its new Scam Alert feature, with the tool now being tested by a limited group of Android beta users. The feature is designed to identify potentially fraudulent messages from unknown contacts and warn users before they continue the conversation.
The Scam Alert feature is reportedly available to select Android beta testers running WhatsApp version 2.26.34.1. It uses an on-device machine learning model to detect patterns linked to potential scam messages.
When a message is identified as a likely scam, WhatsApp displays a warning inside the chat. Users can then choose to block or report the account, or continue the conversation. The feature can also be manually enabled under Settings > Account.
WhatsApp has confirmed that Scam Alert is optional and works alongside end-to-end encryption. Its arrival in beta testing indicates that a broader public rollout could follow soon.
Meta previously provided details of how the feature works. Scam Alert downloads a machine learning model directly to the user’s device. The model then analyses incoming messages from people who are not saved as contacts and checks whether they match known scam patterns.
If a potential scam is detected, the warning appears only to the user and is not visible to the sender. If a warning is incorrect, users can mark the conversation as trusted. The warning will then disappear, and Scam Alert will not flag that chat again.
Users can also choose to share their last 5 messages with WhatsApp to help improve the feature’s accuracy.
The model has been trained using patterns identified in scam conversations from reports submitted by users. Meta said message content is not automatically shared with WhatsApp, Meta or any third party as part of the detection process.
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