WhatsApp is rolling out four major updates to enhance the group chat experience. These changes will make it easier for new members to understand past conversations and allow existing users to find important messages more quickly. Recently, the company also introduced a 'Guest Calls' feature, allowing people without an account to join calls.

1. Pin Messages Permanently

Previously, messages could only be pinned for 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days.

The new update introduces the option to pin messages without any time limit.

The limit of pinning a maximum of 4 messages per group remains unchanged.

Benefit: Essential information stays at the top of the chat indefinitely, saving members from repeatedly searching for it.

2. Access to Previous Chat History for New Members

When a new member joins, the group admin or manager can share recent chat messages by tapping on their name.

According to the company, these shared messages will also remain end-to-end encrypted.

3. Mention Filter: View Tagged Messages Instantly

In large groups with hundreds of messages daily, finding your mentions can be difficult. Selecting the mention filter allows users to separately view only the messages where they were tagged or mentioned.

4. Share Status Updates with Selected Groups

Status updates can be restricted to members of chosen groups only.

They will automatically disappear after 24 hours.

Group members can react to these updates and share their own status.

Benefit: It becomes easier to share updates with specific groups instead of broadcasting them to every contact.