With billions of people unable to see their friends and family in person due to COVID-19, people are relying on WhatsApp more than ever to communicate.

People are talking to doctors, teachers, and isolated loved ones via WhatsApp during this crisis. That’s why all your messages and calls on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default to give you a secure place for your most personal conversations.

That being said, with the fear and panic that the outbreak brings, the spread of fake news has been rife. As a private messaging service, WhatsApp has taken several steps over the years to help keep conversations intimate.

Last year, the company introduced the concept of messages that have been forwarded one too many times. These messages are labeled with double arrows to indicate they did not originate from a close contact. On top of that, it also set limits on forward messages to constrain virality, which led to a 25% decrease in message forwards globally at the time.

Today, WhatsApp is taking things up a notch with the introduction of a limit so that these messages can only be forwarded to one chat at a time. That’s right, all your aunties and uncles on your family chat are going to have to put in some extra work in order to ensure you get that text about how their friends son in law is a doctor and says that warm water is THE cure for Covid-19.

While the company recognizes that forwarded messages also contain helpful information as well as funny videos, memes, and reflections of prayers people find meaningful, recent weeks have seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarded messages.

Users have actually reached out to WhatsApp not just about how overwhelming it can be, but also about how it can contribute to the spread of misinformation. It is with that in mind, and in the spirit of keeping WhatsApp a place for personal conversation that the company has introduced the new measure.

The news comes as WhatsApp pledges $1 Million USD to fight the spread of false news about the Coronavirus