New Delhi, Delhi, India

With rising reports of mob lynching in the country triggered by fake messages on Whatsapp, the messenger app has now planned to put a limit on forwarding messages.

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Facebook-owned Whatsapp announced on Thursday that it was launching a test to limit the forwarding of messages for all users.

WhatsApp said it will also test a lower limit of five chats - individual or group chats - at a time and remove the quick forward button next to media messages. 

The move is likely to be a deterrent to mass forwarding of messages.

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The move had come after Indian authorities sought curbs on the spread of rumours through the messenger app that have led to violent incidents.

India is WhatsApp's biggest market with over 200 million users. Also the users in the country forward more messages, photos and videos through Whatsapp than any other country in the world, the messenger app said.

Whatsapp had earlier sought the partnership of the Indian government and the people to curb the spread of false information on its platform.

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Fake messages about child abductors on Whatsapp have recently resulted in dozens of mass lynching and several deaths.

WhatsApp last week published advertisements in key Indian newspapers to tackle the spread of misinformation.

The messaging service had said it was giving users controls and information to help them stay safe, and that it planned to run long-term public safety advertising campaigns.

(With inputs from Reuters)