Staying in the loop in group chats can sometimes be a hectic task, especially when you have a lot of messages to catch up on. To help users keep engaged in the group chat, WhatsApp has introduced four updates that make it easier to pick up where you left off.
Four new updates for Group Chats
- Pin messages for longer: You now have the option to keep important messages pinned forever, if you don’t want to choose a time limit up front.
- Send message history after someone joins a group: Previously, WhatsApp made it possible to share message history with new members via a toggle on or off. Now you can also send someone recent messages retroactively after they’ve joined a group just by tapping their name in the chat. Those messages stay end-to-end encrypted like all your personal chats.
- Share a group status with your group members: Group status makes it simple to share casual updates with specific groups. Everyone in the group can view, react, and add their own status, and just like regular statuses, they disappear after 24 hours.
- Filter by mentions and replies: A new chat filter that shows every unread group conversation where you were either mentioned or received a direct reply, including @all messages, so you can quickly catch up on the chats most relevant to you.
Apart from these new updates, there are some additional features that you can use in your group chats:
- Reply privately to one person in a group, so a side cha doesn’t derail the entire conversation.
- For when you need a definitive answer, try running off ‘allow multiple answers’ when making a poll.
- Member tags let you add a bit of context about who you are.
