WhatsApp has launched a suite of new features aimed at improving the management of busy group chats, focusing on better communication, decision-making, and organizational efficiency. These updates are currently being deployed to users globally, though availability may vary as the rollout for Android and iPhone devices occurs in stages.
A primary addition is the new @all mention feature, which allows users to notify every member of a group simultaneously. Designed for urgent announcements like event deadlines or sudden schedule changes, this tool bypasses individual tagging. While these notifications can reach users even if they have muted the group, individuals retain the ability to disable @all alerts within their personal notification settings. To prevent spam in larger communities, the feature is restricted to administrators in groups exceeding 32 participants.
The platform has also overhauled its polling system with three functional upgrades. Creators can now establish an expiration time for polls, ensuring voting concludes automatically. Additionally, users can opt to hide voter identities for increased privacy. To improve accuracy, poll questions can now be edited for up to 15 minutes after they are posted, allowing for the correction of typos or the clarification of confusing language without the need to delete and restart the poll.
Finally, WhatsApp has introduced a feature to simplify the creation of new groups based on existing ones. The new option, titled Create a similar group, enables users to quickly select participants from a current chat rather than manually adding each member individually. This tool is intended to facilitate the formation of project teams, the planning of private events, or the migration of off-topic conversations to a separate space, helping to keep main group discussions focused and organized.
To limit misuse in larger conversations, only admins can use the feature in groups containing more than 32 people.
It is intended for urgent messages such as office closures, event deadlines or last-minute changes, removing the need to tag members individually.
Source: Khaleej Times
