WhatsApp Spotted Bringing Ability to Silently Exit Groups

WhatsApp has been spotted introducing the ability to let users silently exit their groups — without letting other members know about their exit. The new move by the instant messaging app would make it easier for people to leave unwanted and annoying groups which they were earlier hesitating to exit as other members would be able to know about their leaving. This could particularly be the case of family groups where you don't want your relatives to know about your exit from the group due to random "Good Morning" greetings or the messages that require basic fact-checking.

According to a screenshot shared by WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo, the instant messaging app will inform users on their exit from a group that only the user and group admins will be notified about the move. This means that group members will not be able to see whether one of them has left the particular group.

WhatsApp is seen to be working a new group-focussed update
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

Currently, WhatsApp shows an auto-generated notification when someone exits a group. This notification is visible to all members as well as admins of that group.

WhatsApp announced the ability to silently leave a group at the time of detailing its Communities feature a few days back. However, the exact timeline on when exactly it will be available to users is yet to be revealed.

"We're also adding the ability to silently leave a group, so everyone in a group is not notified in case people decide the conversation is no longer for them," the app said on an FAQ page.

WABetaInfo reports that the screenshot it is using to report the new addition has been taken from a recent WhatsApp Desktop beta. However, the change is likely to be available for users on WhatsApp for Android and iOS as well.

For some time, WhatsApp has been improving the way groups work on its platform to enhance communication among multiple users. It announced the expansion of group size limit to 512 members from 256 as well as added the ability to react to messages you get on groups using reaction emojis — instead of typing the text. WhatsApp also recently expanded the group voice calls limit to 32 participants from eight.