Fact Check - Can Government read WhatsApp chats based on the number of ticks you see?

As the coronavirus pandemic has given rise to the number of fake stories going around on the internet. There is a certain level of paranoia amid internet users fueled d by the fake stories going around. Be it WhatsApp forwards or social media posts, the amount of fake pieces of information at the disposal of internet users is immense. One such fake message has now come to light. 

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Claim -

A recent WhatsApp forward is claiming that the government can now read all WhatsApp chats. The forwarded message also gives false information about read receipts, claiming that the WhatsApp messages will now feature three ticks instead of two. Three tick marks suggesting that the government has read the message. Whereas, the message also claimed that the government can take action against the sender of the message. According to the message, three red ticks would indicate that strict action will be taken against the person who sends the message. 

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Rating - False

The government cannot read personal messages on WhatsApp. No third parties except for the sender and the receiver of the messages can read the messages which get forwarded on WhatsApp. The concept of three ticks introduced by the fake message also does not hold any truth as no such feature has been introduced by WhatsApp. 

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Origin - 

This certain message first started doing rounds on WhatsApp messenger. The message was then shared multiple times on various WhatsApp groups. But, the WhatsApp three ticks message did not hold any credibility to it. 

Google Trends analysis - 

As the fake message started going around on WhatsApp, people were quick to search whether it was true. This resulted in a number of people searching for the same on Google. Check it out below - 

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