WhatsApp group admins today can add anyone they want to the group or create an invite link that anyone can join, but otherwise they have no more control. Now we have new tips from WaBetaInfo about a new related tool: manual new member confirmations.

A few months ago we had already heard about the possibility of WhatsApp to include manual confirmations in groups, but until now we had not seen exactly how. Now we know from the new screenshots that a Optional setting in WhatsApp groups.

who joins the group

With groups of up to 512 participants and the functionality of communities in theory just around the corner, it seems that Meta is in a hurry to update its app with moderation and group management options that were not available until now. Just yesterday we learned that admins can delete any message and today we know more about another related news: this admins can approve who joins a group.

Today only admins can add people to a group, either by entering directly (if they allow it in privacy settings) or by creating a link. Anyone with access to the link can join the group, and there’s not much administrators can do other than cancel the link and/or kick intruders after joining.

The innovation prepared by WhatsApp comes into play at this point: manual member confirmation, similar to what we find in Facebook groups, for example. When enabled, those trying to join a group are left in a kind of “waiting room” until an admin approves them to join the group.

From the hands of WaBetaInfo we now have a better idea of ​​how this will work, it will basically be a setting in the options for the group called. Confirm new participants. We don’t currently know if it will be enabled by default and we have yet to see what the process of approving new members will be like. There will likely be a list that admins can approve or reject.

Another screenshot from WaBetaInfo tells us a little more about what happens when you turn this setting on or off. When disabled, the text “You have changed the group setting to allow all participants to add members to the group” will be displayed in the chat; this is an important change. anyone can add someone else to a groupsomething so far reserved for administrators.

via | WaBetaInfo