WhatsApp Gains New Group Features for Admins and Members
WhatsApp parent company Meta has announced two new updates related to WhatsApp groups, including a new privacy control tool for admins and a way for users to find out which groups they have in common.

For group admins, WhatsApp now includes a Pending participants tool that gives them the ability to decide who can join the group.
When an admin chooses to share their group's invite link or make their group joinable in a community, they'll now have more control over who can join, says WhatsApp.
It's also now possible for a user to find out which groups they have in common with someone else. This can be done by simply searching a contact's name, where they will be able to see the contact's group memberships.
The new group features are rolling out over the coming weeks on iOS and Android.
Looking ahead, WhatsApp has been testing a new feature that will allow group chat memberships on the encrypted platform to expire after a set period of time, although it's not clear when it will be ready to go live.
Popular Stories
Popular messaging app WhatsApp is now allowing users to reserve usernames ahead of plans to launch username-based messaging. Right now, WhatsApp uses a person's phone number as an identifier, but usernames will allow people to interact without having to exchange personal information.
Username reservations are rolling out starting this week, and not all users will have access to the...
WhatsApp appears to be introducing a new visual indicator that shows when a contact is online, according to WaBetaInfo.
The feature adds a small green circle to a contact's profile photo when they're active in the app, and which disappears the moment they leave, all updated in real time. The indicator is now being tested for the WhatsApp iPhone app in TestFlight after it debuted on Android...
WhatsApp is developing a first-party cloud storage option for chat backups on iPhone, providing users with an alternative to iCloud for the first time, according to app tinkerer WABetaInfo.
Code found in the WhatsApp beta for iOS (version 26.28.10.16), available through TestFlight, suggests that users will eventually be able to pick their preferred backup destination directly from the app's...