WhatsApp update finally introduces ‘one of its most requested features’

A WhatsApp update has added what it says is one of the app’s most requested features.

Users will now be able to see messages from before the time they joined the group, allowing them to catch up.

On WhatsApp, when somebody joins a group, they only see the messages that have been sent since they joined. That means that being added to a busy group can be confusing, since there is no way of catching up on what has already been discussed.

Now, when someone is added to a group, other members can choose to send recent messages to those new users, allowing them to be caught up.

The existing behaviour will remain the default, and someone must take the action to send those old messages to a new joiner. Admins will be able to switch the setting off for a given group.

When they do, they will be given the option of forwarding between 25 and 100 of the most recent messages. If that happens, everyone in the group is notified and the messages show up with a different look to make clear they have been forwarded.

Those messages are still end-to-end encrypted, like all messages on WhatsApp, the company stressed.

The new feature is a “quicker, more private way to keep conversations flowing, with no more screenshots, and no more unnecessary message forwarding”, WhatsApp said in its announcement.

The feature is now being rolled out “gradually”, WhatsApp said,