Joining an active group chat often meant missing important conversations and relying on others to share past context. A newly announced update now aims to make onboarding smoother while keeping conversations secure and uninterrupted.
WhatsApp has rolled out a feature called Group Message History, designed to reduce disruptions in group discussions. The update allows newly added participants to view recent messages shared before they joined, removing the need for members to manually forward older chats. The feature continues to operate under the platform’s end-to-end encryption framework.
According to a blog announcement, the feature is optional and fully configurable. Group administrators can decide whether previous messages should be shared with new members. Admins also have control over how much history is visible, with the option to share as few as 25 earlier messages. This flexibility allows different types of groups, including professional, community, and personal chats, to manage conversations based on their needs.
Privacy remains a key focus of the update. The platform stated that Group Message History does not weaken encryption standards, ensuring that only group participants can access shared content. Message visibility stays restricted within the group environment, maintaining existing security protections.
To ensure transparency, all group members will receive notifications when message history is shared with a newly added participant. These shared messages will include timestamps and sender details. Additionally, the forwarded history will appear visually different from regular chat messages, making it easier for users to identify past conversations.
The global rollout of the feature has already started and will soon be available on both Android and iOS versions of the app. Users are advised to update to the latest version to access the new functionality.
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