Facebook introduces forwarding limit on Messenger, now forwarding allowed to 5 people or group at a time

New Delhi: In a bid to slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content, Facebook has introduced a forwarding limit on Messenger, which means that users will be allowed to forward a message to only five people or groups at a time, just like they do on WhatsApp.

"As a part of our ongoing efforts to provide people with a safer, more private messaging experience, today we’re introducing a forwarding limit on Messenger, so messages can only be forwarded to five people or groups at a time. Limiting forwarding is an effective way to slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content that has the potential to cause real world harm," Facebook said in a blog post.

The move comes after there has been a surge in spread of misinformation around the Covid-19 pandemic and major elections in the US, New Zealand and other countries inch closer.

"We are introducing a forwarding limit on Messenger to help curb the efforts of those looking to cause chaos, sow uncertainty or inadvertently undermine accurate information," Facebook said.

Earlier this year, Facebook introduced features like safety notifications, two-factor authentication, and easier ways to block and report unwanted messages.

"This new feature provides yet another layer of protection by limiting the spread of viral misinformation or harmful content, and we believe it will help keep people safer online," it said.

In April this year, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced to introduce a new limit on frequently forwarding messages where a WhatsApp user can forward such messages to one chat at a time.

This limit kicks in once a message has been previously forwarded five times or more.