Highlights
- WhatsApp is testing a feature for new group chat members to see previous group messages.
- The option appears when adding someone to a group, is off by default, and shows alerts before sharing.
- It is expected to roll out gradually to more users with no official stable release date yet.
(Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash)
WhatsApp is working on solving a long-standing issue for group chats by allowing newly added members to view earlier messages. Yes, it is reportedly working on a feature that will give the new group chat members a better context about the group.
The feature has been spotted in a recent WhatsApp for iOS update released through Apple’s TestFlight beta program, according to WABetainfo. Here’s more on that.
New WhatsApp Feature for Group Chats
According to WABetaInfo, the upcoming feature is designed to let new members receive messages that were sent before they joined a group. This will help users understand the purpose of the group and follow ongoing discussions without feeling lost. At present, WhatsApp only allows users to see messages sent after they become part of a group, unlike platforms such as Telegram that already support chat history access.
As per the report, new members can receive up to 100 recent messages shared in the group over the past 14 days. These shared messages will appear in a different colour, making it easy to distinguish them from new conversations.
WhatsApp will also notify existing group members when chat history is shared with a new participant. In addition, the app will display a message in the group chat mentioning the name of the user who shared the past messages.
The option to share chat history will appear while adding a new member to a group. After tapping on the ‘Add member’ option, users should see a new setting at the bottom of the screen that allows them to share recent messages. They can choose to send up to 100 messages or limit it to fewer messages, depending on their preference.
By default, the feature will remain turned off and WhatsApp will not automatically send previous messages to new members. The app will also show alerts when users attempt to share chat history. These alerts are expected to appear up to three times and from the fourth attempt onwards, messages will be shared once the user confirms the action.
Availability
The feature was earlier hinted at for WhatsApp on Android, but the latest development suggests that the Meta-owned messaging platform is now preparing to roll it out more broadly, starting with iOS users.
Currently, the feature is only available to WhatsApp for iOS users who have installed the beta update via the TestFlight app. The rollout is expected to be gradual. As of now, there is no official timeline yet for a stable release.
FAQs
Q1. What does the new WhatsApp group chat feature do?
Answer. It lets newly added group members receive up to 100 past messages from the previous 14 days, with those messages shown in a different colour to distinguish them from new conversations.
Q2. How is WhatsApp group chat history shared and controlled?
Answer. The share history option appears when adding a member; it is off by default, lets the adder choose how many messages (up to 100) to share, shows alerts before sharing (up to three times), and notifies existing members while naming who shared the history.
Q3. When and where will the new WhatsApp group chat feature be available?
Answer. It was spotted in the WhatsApp for iOS TestFlight beta; rollout will be gradual, there’s no official stable release date yet, and the feature was previously hinted at for Android.