WhatsApp Lets New Members Read Old Chats

WhatsApp has begun rolling out a significant update that grants new group members access to previous conversations. The Group Message History feature allows current participants to share between 25 and 100 of the most recent messages with individuals joining a chat.

This functionality aims to provide new members with essential context instantly. Admins and members will find an option to "Send messages" when adding participants, with choices for sharing the last 25, 50, 75, or 100 messages.

Admins retain the ability to disable this feature at any time. When older messages are shared, all group members receive a notification detailing the sender and timestamp, with an option to view the content.

WhatsApp assures that these messages continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption. The company also recently addressed scrutiny over its encryption practices, denying claims that user messages are accessible to Meta employees. The rollout is happening in phases.