WhatsApp is introducing a new feature called Group Message History aimed at enhancing user experience in group chats. This functionality enables new participants to access previous discussions, ensuring they are informed about ongoing conversations. Users will have the option to choose how much history to share, with the ability to select between the last 25 and 100 messages.
The feature is designed with privacy in mind, as it does not allow complete access to the entire group chat history. Instead, when adding a new member, existing participants can decide on the extent of message history shared. If someone forgets to share the chat history during the addition, they must remove and re-add the individual to provide this information.
WhatsApp’s latest offering gives it a competitive advantage over platforms like Telegram and iMessage, which do not provide such selective sharing options. Group admins will also be notified when message history is shared and can disable this feature for the entire group if desired. The rollout of Group Message History will occur gradually on a global scale while maintaining end-to-end encryption for all chats.