WhatsApp adds new group messaging privacy settings

WhatsApp has rolled out a new common sense privacy setting that may also make it more difficult for harmful content to spread through the platform. Starting Wednesday, WhatsApp users will be able to specify who is able to add them to groups, and to accept or reject invitations sent through DMs. 

Now, in WhatsApp’s settings, users can choose whether “Everyone,” “My Contacts,” or “Nobody” can automatically add them to groups. Users can navigate to the settings through Account > Privacy > Groups.

The labels are a bit deceptive, though; selecting “My Contacts” or “Nobody” does not in fact mean that only contacts or “nobody” can send you any group invitations. Instead, it makes users invite you to a group, which you can accept or reject, rather than automatically adding you. (Pretty wild that any stranger could just automatically add you to a group before, TBH!)

For people who select “My Contacts,” only contacts can add you to groups. For people outside of contacts, or for people who select “Nobody,” users must invite you to a group over DM. 

“‘Nobody’ means you’ll have to approve joining every group to which you’re invited, and ‘My Contacts’ means only users you have in your address book can add you to groups,” WhatsApp explained in a statement.

You can choose to reject or accept those invitations with an expiration of 72 hours. 

WhatsApp groups are a popular way that users communicate and, increasingly, share and consume news, on the Facebook-owned social network. That’s become problematic in places like India where large group chats and forwarding have enabled the spread of malicious content and fake news, that’s led to real-world violence. 

Alongside the Indian government, WhatsApp is trying to improve digital literacy amongst its users, teaching skepticism about content they may receive from unknown sources. Giving users the choice to limit communication from people users don’t actually have in their contacts could help with that effort. It could also prevent bots or other fake accounts from using groups to spread content.

Facebook is currently attempting to consolidate its internal messaging infrastructure between WhatsApp, Instagram DM, and Facebook Messenger. Today’s change puts WhatsApp a bit closer to Messenger, where users have separate inboxes for people they do and do not know.

Zuckerberg has also been trying to rebrand Facebook as a privacy-conscious company (lol) through a new emphasis on private messaging. Considering the effort to unify the platforms, and the CEO’s new directive, we could see a larger effort aimed at giving users more control over unsolicited messaging across all of Facebook’s properties.