WhatsApp Context Card Roll Out to Improve Safety for Group Members
WhatsApp Group Safety Context Card
As per information shared on Tuesday, WhatsApp is rolling out a new card for group chats that will be displayed when a user adds someone to a group who is not in their contacts. This card is displayed in the chat window and contains information about the group that will provide context to users about the group.
The new context card for group chats will feature the name of the WhatsApp user who added them to the group. A sample screenshot of the feature in action shows that the card displays the user-assigned name, which is indicated with a tilde symbol (~) when an unknown user sends a message in a group chat.
Users will also be informed that they were “added by a non-contact” to a group. The context card will also show new members the name of the user who created the group. The name will largely depend on what the group creator has added to their WhatsApp settings.
If a user is added to a group they don’t want to be a part of, the context card includes a safety tool option to report problematic content. Users will also see an Exit Group button to exit the group if they don’t want to be a part of the conversation.
WhatsApp group safety methods
In 2019, WhatsApp introduced a simple option under Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups that allowed users to block strangers from adding them to groups through the app’s privacy settings. When enabled, users will receive an invite to join a group when someone outside their contact list tries to add them to a group.
After a user is invited to a group, they have 3 days to accept it. The invite comes as a direct message and users cannot be added to the group until they tap the Join Group button on the invite. This could be the best option for users who want to avoid being automatically added to groups by unknown users, while still being given the option to join after viewing the details of the group and some of its members.
