WhatsApp News: you can now show previous messages to new group members

This time it’s not about hidden beta news: the WhatsApp team has announced the debut of a new feature dedicated to group chats. With the new setting you can actively manage the Group chat history, one of the features most requested by users — as highlighted by the developers themselves.

WhatsApp: how to share the message history with new group members

This feature allows group chats to be even more welcoming for new members, but without privacy consequences. Admins and members can decide whether to share the most recent messages with the new participants: when you add a person to a group, it is possible to select the option to send them the recent messages — from 25 up to a maximum of 100.

Messages are protected by end-to-end encryption, just as with users’ personal chats. However, it is worth noting that sharing the message history is an action to perform, so that users can maintain control.

However, administrators can disable the new feature from the group, if they prefer. For transparency, when the message history is sent, all group members receive a notification, with clear indications of the date and time and information about the sender. Finally, the message history is also visually distinct from regular messages.

At the moment the feature is being rolled out and will be released gradually to all WhatsApp users. In the meantime, here are upcoming features uncovered thanks to analyses of the latest beta versions: the spoiler button and the personal password.