On Wednesday, WhatsApp said that it will allow users to decide whether they want to get added to groups or not. The movie was taken especially for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the country as media will play a crucial role in the political campaign to reach out to the masses.
“WhatsApp groups continue to connect family, friends, coworkers, classmates and more. As people turn to groups for important conversations, users have asked for more control over their experience,” the Facebook-owned company said in a statement.
The app has added a new privacy setting in which an invite system will help users to figure out who can add them to a group. Earlier, users were added to the group without their approval.
To use this feature, users have to follow simple steps. They can go to ‘settings” option in WhatsApp app and select one of three options – “nobody,” “my contacts,” or “everyone.”
If users choose”nobody”, they will have to approve of joining every group to which they are invited. On selecting “my contacts” option, users from the person’s address book will be able to add them to groups. The user will be given three days to accept the invite before it expires, the statement said.
WhatsApp said, “With these new features, users will have more control over the group messages they receive.”
These new privacy settings will roll out to some users starting Wednesday and will be available worldwide in the coming weeks to those using the latest version of WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which captures India’s one of its largest markets with over 200 million users, had faced criticism from the Indian government after a series of mob-lynching incidents, triggered by rumors circulating on the messaging platform, claimed lives last year. Also to stop the fake news circulating on the app this step has been taken.
