WhatsApp Rolls Out Context Card for New Group Members to Improve Safety
New Delhi: WhatsApp has begun rolling out a new feature aimed at enhancing the safety of its group messaging functions. The Meta-owned messaging platform will now display contextual information to users when they are added to a group by an unknown user. This feature provides users with relevant details about the group they have been added to, along with a shortcut to exit the group if desired. Additionally, WhatsApp already offers a setting that allows users to prevent strangers from adding them to groups, further bolstering user privacy and control.
WhatsApp Group Safety Context Cards
On Tuesday, WhatsApp announced the rollout of a new feature aimed at enhancing group chat safety. The platform is introducing context cards for group chats, which will be displayed when a user is added to a group by someone not in their contacts. These cards will appear in the chat window and provide users with relevant information about the group.
The context cards will prominently feature the name of the WhatsApp user who added them to the group. A sample screenshot of the feature shows that the card displays the name set by the user, indicated by the tilde symbol (~) when an unknown user sends a message in a group chat. This new feature is designed to give users better context about the groups they are added to and improve their overall experience on the platform.
Users will also be informed that they were “added by a non-contact” to a group. The context card will also show the new member the name of the user who created the group. The name, of course, will depend on what the group’s creator has added to their WhatsApp settings.
If a user has been added to a group that they do not want to be a part of, the context card includes a Safety tools option to report problematic content. Users will also see an Exit group button to leave i they do not wish to be part of the conversation.
WhatsApp’s Existing Group Safety Measures
Back in 2019, WhatsApp introduced a handy option under Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups that allowed users to prevent strangers from adding them to a group, via the app’s privacy settings. When enabled, users will receive an invite to join groups, when a person outside their contact list tries to add them to a group.
After a user is invited to a group, they have three days to accept it before it expires. The invite shows up as a direct message, and users aren’t added to the group until they tap the Join Group button on the invite. This might be the best option for users who want to avoid being automatically added to groups by unknown users, while still being offered an option to join after seeing details of the group and some of its members.
