There is good news for those who find themselves added by strangers to new and unwanted WhatsApp groups. The app on Wednesday announced that it has started rolling out new group privacy settings globally.
According to the company’s blog, the new settings have been made available to some users already and will be made available worldwide in the coming days to those using the latest version of the app.
The new privacy settings can be accessed by going to the “Settings” section of the app and then tapping “Account” > “Privacy” > “Groups” and selecting one of three options. These options are “Everyone,” “My Contacts,” or “My Contacts Except”, the last of which gives you further control for who among your contacts can add you to a group.
Whatsapp added that based on user feedback from the initial rollout, the “Nobody” option was replaced with the “My Contacts Except” option.
In cases where the new settings halt an admin from adding you to a group, the individual will be prompted to send a private invite via individual chat. This link, if not accepted, expires in three days.
Another security measure, taken by the company this year, which now extends to both Android and iOS users is the Touch ID and Face ID for iPhones and the fingerprint lock for Android users.
The Facebook owned app’s downloads and popularity recently took a hit after it was revealed that the the app had been used to spy on many, including Indian journalists, lawyers, human rights activists and politicians by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus.
