NEW YORK: WhatsApp, the world’s most widely used messaging platform, has launched a long-requested feature that will make group chats easier to follow.
According to a statement issued by the company, WhatsApp has introduced a chat history sharing feature for groups. The feature allows existing group members to share recent messages and media files with newly added participants so they can quickly understand the ongoing conversation.
Currently, when someone joins a group, they cannot see previous messages and usually have to ask other members for updates. With the new option, users can share 25 to 100 messages from the past 14 days with new members.
The shared messages will appear in a different colour, making it clear that they are older messages. Other group participants will also receive a notification showing who shared the chat history.
WhatsApp said the feature is optional and aims to reduce the need for admins to manually forward old messages to newcomers.
The rollout has started for both Android and iOS users and will gradually become available to everyone in the coming weeks.
