How the fake G1 headline that went viral was created
First of all: no, WhatsApp will not notify users when a screenshot is taken . There has been no official announcement from WhatsApp itself, nor any indication that email list usa this feature is coming. A search in English does not return any relevant results; and if you search in Portuguese, you will be taken to a website that denies the rumor.
Many people believed it because it's not technically impossible: Snapchat notifies other users when you take screenshots of photos or text messages. However, Snapchat's focus is different: it deletes your photos within 24 hours, and it doesn't allow you to share the images you receive with other people.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp saves your entire history – even offering backup on Google Drive so you don't lose it – and allows you to copy and share messages natively:
If WhatsApp doesn't notify you when you share a message, why would it notify you when you take a screenshot?
The rumor apparently started on the website Portal Atualizado. The “news” doesn’t provide many details: it just says that “when the screen is taken, the other user will be notified just like on Snapchat”, and that the feature will be released on November 28th.
The link has over 19,000 likes on Facebook, and traffic to the site was so intense that it became unstable.