This new WhatsApp update will make group feature more personal, less random

WhatsApp has had a busy 2019. It has introduced several new features ranging from PiP mode to the group video calling. WhatsApp is now working on a group feature that will give the user more control over who can add them to an existing or a newly formed group. At present, anyone can add you to a group without your permission. However, the new feature would change all that and give power back to the users.

One of the biggest annoyance for any WhatsApp user is getting added to a random group. The user can be added multiple times unless the group admin is blocked. The 'Group Invitation' feature would surely change that. This new feature is available under WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups. User will have the option of limiting their privacy settings for Group invitation to the following three options.

• Everyone
• My Contacts
• Nobody

WhatsApp users can now select 'Everyone' if they wish to be added to the groups by anybody. Here, no joining invites will be received by the user from the group admins. The second option is 'My Contacts' which will allow user to be added to the groups only by his/her contacts. Here, the user will receive an invite to join a group from people not in his/her contacts list. Lastly, the user can choose 'Nobody'. Here the user cannot be directly added to any of the groups, in any situation. User will receive a request every time someone wants to add him/her to a group.

The invite to join the group automatically expires within 72 hours.

Meanwhile, you can still join a group with a Group link - that will be created once the group is made. The link can be used to join a group regardless of the privacy option.

The 'Group Invitation' feature is not yet available and is still under development. However, it will be enabled in future for both Android and iOS users.

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