WhatsApp on Wednesday announced the rolling out of its new privacy feature to help users decide who can add them to groups.
The Indian government had been long asking WhatsApp to ensure user consent before being added to WhatsApp groups.
WhatsApp groups continue to connect family, friends, coworkers, classmates and more. As people turn to groups for important conversations, users have asked for more control over their experience,” the Facebook-owned company said in a statement.
To restrict joining of new groups on WhatsApp, there will be the specific privacy setting that can be accessed by going to Account > Privacy > Groups from the WhatsApp settings menu and then three distinct options will be available on the screen, namely Nobody, My Contacts, and Everyone.
If you select the Nobody option, you’ll have to approve joining every WhatsApp group to which you’re invited. However, the My Contacts option will enable users you have in your address book to add you to groups. There will also be the Everyone option that won’t add any restriction.
In case if you’ve selected the Nobody option, the person inviting you to a group will be asked to send you a private invite through an individual chat. The private invite will expire three days after its receipt. Moreover, similar would be the case if you will select the My Contacts option and someone who’s not from your address book attempts to invite you to a group.
With these new features, users will have more control over the group messages they receive, WhatsApp said. These new privacy settings will begin rolling out to some users starting today and will be available worldwide in the coming weeks to those using the latest version of WhatsApp.