WhatsApp on Tuesday began rolling out a new feature designed to improve the security of its group messaging capabilities. The Meta-owned messaging platform will now show users contextual information when they’re added to a group by an unknown user. The feature is designed to provide WhatsApp users with relevant information about the group they’ve been added to, along with a shortcut to leave the group. The service already offers a setting that lets users prevent strangers from adding them to groups.
WhatsApp Group Safety Context Cards
According to details shared on Tuesday, WhatsApp is rolling out a new card for group conversations that will appear after a user is added to a group by a user who is not in their contacts. This card will appear in the chat window and will include information about the group that will give users context about the group.
The new context cards for group conversations prominently feature the name of the WhatsApp user who added them to the group. An example of the feature in action shows the card displaying the name set by the user — the name that appears with the tilde symbol (~) when an unknown user sends a message in a group conversation.
WhatsApp’s new group context cards are now rolling out to users globally
Photo credit: Meta
Users are also notified that they have been added to a group “by a non-contact”. The context card also shows the new member the name of the user who created the group. The name of course depends on what the group creator has added to their WhatsApp settings.
If a user has been added to a group he/she does not want to be part of, the context card will contain a Safety tools option to report problematic content. Users will also be able to Leave Group button to leave if they do not want to participate in the conversation.
Existing security measures for WhatsApp groups
In 2019, WhatsApp introduced a handy option under Institutions > Account > Privacy > Groups which allowed users to prevent strangers from adding them to a group, via the app’s privacy settings. When enabled, users will receive an invitation to join groups when someone outside their contacts list tries to add them to a group.
Once a user is invited to a group, they have three days to accept it before it expires. The invitation will appear as a direct message and users will not be added to the group until they tap the button. Join group button on the invitation. This may be the best option for users who want to avoid being automatically added to groups by unknown users, but still want the option to join after viewing the group details and some of the members.
