India’s government has attacked WhatsApp over messages that have led to people being killed in horrific and violent mob attacks.

Authorities have asked the Facebook-owned app to stop the spread of false news and hoaxes to ensure no further attacks can happen.

At least 20 people have been killed, mostly in rural villages, in many Indian states by mobs. The attacks come after stories spread quickly and without regard for the truth on WhatsApp and other messaging services.

12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Show all 12 1 /12 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Unsend messages You can unsend a message by tapping and holding it, hitting the Delete symbol and selecting Delete for Everyone. The feature works for all types of messages, but only if they were sent less than seven minutes ago. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Dodge the blue ticks WhatsApp’s blue ticks show when sent messages have been read, but you can disable them buy going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts. However, bear in mind that, by doing so, you’ll lose the ability to see when your own sent messages have been read. Another, more fiddly way of reading your messages without triggering the blue ticks, is enabling Aeroplane Mode before opening your messages - just remember to close the app before switching Aeroplane Mode off again. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Hide your 'last seen' time Prevent your friends from finding out when you were last online by hiding your last seen time. Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen. As is the case with disabling read receipts, hiding your ‘last seen’ time will also stop you from seeing anybody else’s. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Limit data usage You can control how much data you munch through on WhatsApp by limiting the types of media you automatically download on a mobile connection. Go to Settings > Data Usage and choose the best option for you. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Customise notifications If you’re expecting an important WhatsApp message from someone, set a custom notification for them by opening the chat, tapping their name at the top and hitting Custom Notifications. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Format your messages To jazz up any of your messages, simply highlight it by tapping and holding it, hit the More Options key on the pop-up menu and tap the formatting option you want - bold, italic, strikethrough or monospace. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Type hands-free You can get Siri or Google Assistant to type your WhatsApp messages out for you by saying either “Hey Siri” or “Okay Google”, followed by the name of the person you want to message and the actual contents of the message. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Mark chats as unread When you’ve read a message but can’t reply to it straight away, you can set a visual reminder by marking it as unread. On Android, long-press the conversation, and on iOS, swipe from left to right on a chat. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Email entire conversations You almost certainly won’t do this on a regular basis, but it’s a handy option to have. You can export entire conversations - complete with emoji and media attachments - by hitting More inside a chat a selecting Email Chat. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Mass-message contacts You can send the same message to lots of your contacts without lumping them all into one group, much like the BCC option on email, by hitting the New Broadcast option on the app’s main menu. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Pin conversations You pin up to three contacts and groups to the top of your WhatsApp conversation list by tapping and holding a chat, then hitting the pin icon. 12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed Make things easier to find You can easily mark key messages with a star, allowing you to find them easily when you need to. Just tap and hold a message and hit the star icon to save it, and return to it later by selecting Starred Messages in WhatsApp’s main menu.

The messages often describe some kind of threat – such as warning people about gangs abducting children, or about people harvesting body parts. Those attacked are usually new in town or unknown, and are accused of being the people described in the messages.

India’s ministry of electronics and information technology said in a statement late on Tuesday that the lynchings were tied to “irresponsible and explosive messages” circulated on WhatsApp. The ministry wasn’t specific on preventative measures it expected the company to take.

The social messaging platform said in a blog that it would institute awards for research on “spread of misinformation” across its platform.

Investigating officials say the rumours have targeted outsiders, from holidaymakers to migrant workers from other states, and there is often no link with actual cases of missing children.

“The rumours are striking at a very primal fear of one’s child being at risk,” said police officer Harsh Poddar, referring to the lynching of two people in Maharashtra on Sunday.

“We want people to be careful about their children, but are arresting people for causing public panic.”