WhatsApp now finally lets you refuse group chat invitations
Getting out of a WhatsApp group has always been a somewhat complicated task. And not because pressing the key that takes you out of that chat is difficult per se. It's more the discomfort of everything that goes with it. What will your friends, family or co-workers think of you if, in the middle of a conversation that doesn't interest you too much, they see that "so-and-so has left the group".
The days of the tyranny of the WhatsApp groups are over. The application has just developed a feature that allows users to avoid being added without their permission. Thank you, WhatsApp! At last!
As WABetaInfo informs us, this new possibility will be available for iOS and Android devices. But we don't know when yet. At the moment, this "group invitation" system (or Group Invitation, as they call it) can only be used by users who are enrolled in the iOS beta program. Lucky them... So, for now, don't expect to update the latest WhatsApp version and have it appear for you.
How to avoid being added to a WhatsApp group
How many times have you been added to a WhatsApp group without wanting to? Now, the administrator of a WhatsApp group will not take the lead, at least as far as WhatsApp participants are concerned. With this function, once he/she has invited you, they will have to wait for you to accept that invitation. And this isn't the only good thing. Apparently, the purpose of all this is that your number and your name are not visible to the other members of the group until you decide so.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, you will have to go to WhatsApp > Privacy > Groups settings and then select the occasion when you can be added without your consent among three options: "everyone", "my contacts" or "nobody".
Well, there is no need to explain much more, right? Selecting the first one will be like it is now. The second option only lets your contacts have this freedom (if someone who is not in your contacts wants to put you in a group you will receive an invitation) and by choosing the third one ("nobody") you will be completely safe. No one will be able to put you forcibly in a group without you accepting the invitation.
And here comes the delicate part. Or not. You will have 72 hours to accept or decline the invitation. And watch out, because if time passes, it will expire and you won't be able to be part of the group. Maybe it's even a saving grace... Who knows?
What do you think of WhatsApp's new feature? Are you looking forward to it landing on all devices?
Source: WABetaInfo
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