WhatsApp was granted a patent for preventing screenshots of protected content.

{
  "signal_id": "b952c2ea-808c-5f82-ba8f-5dd02eac2e69",
  "signal_type": "patents-company",
  "signal_subtype": "patentGrant",
  "detected_at": "2026-09-23T15:06:57+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "WhatsApp",
    "domain": "whatsapp.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "cpc": [
      {
        "code": "G06F 21/84",
        "label": "Electric digital data processing"
      },
      {
        "code": "G06F 21/604",
        "label": "Electric digital data processing"
      }
    ],
    "tags": [
      "Intellectual Property",
      "Research & Development",
      "Privacy",
      "Messaging",
      "Mobile Applications"
    ],
    "detail": "In September 2026 WhatsApp patented content-protection controls for social messaging interfaces, helping limit captures of sensitive posts, images, or messages.",
    "summary": "WhatsApp was granted a patent for preventing screenshots of protected content.",
    "event_at": "2026-09-22",
    "inventors": [
      {
        "name": "Xueting Wang",
        "status": "unresolved",
        "is_primary": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Aditya Kumar",
        "status": "unresolved",
        "is_primary": false
      },
      {
        "name": "Masroor Naved",
        "status": "resolved",
        "is_primary": false,
        "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/masroornaved"
      }
    ],
    "tech_area": "software / computing",
    "event_kind": "grant_date",
    "grant_date": "2026-09-22",
    "source_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12743557",
    "cpc_primary": {
      "code": "G06F 21/84",
      "label": "Electric digital data processing"
    },
    "patent_title": "Screenshot prevention",
    "patent_number": "US12743557",
    "uspto_assignee": "WhatsApp LLC",
    "patent_abstract": "Methods, systems, and storage media for screenshot prevention are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may: receive content through a first user interface of a social media platform; receive an indication that the content should be protected from being captured; update metadata associated with the content to convey that the content is protected; cause display of the content through a second user interface of the social media platform; receive a request to capture the content through the second user interface; in response to the request to record the content through the second user interface, prevent the content from being captured through the second user interface; and cause display of a message conveying that content is protected through the second user interface.",
    "precision_class": "structural",
    "invention_explanation": "A system that marks content as protected and uses that marker to block or restrict screenshots when the content is displayed.",
    "technologies_mentioned": [
      "screenshot prevention",
      "content protection",
      "social messaging"
    ]
  }
}

curl https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/signals/b952c2ea-808c-5f82-ba8f-5dd02eac2e69 \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY"

curl -X POST https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/companies/enrich \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"whatsapp.com","limit":20}'