WhatsApp has officially rolled out one of its most requested feature called group message history.
The update, now available on Android and iOS, is designed to help newcomers catch up on conversations without needing to ask for screenshots or summaries from existing members.
Previously, anyone joining a group chat could only see messages sent after their arrival, which often made catching up in busy groups difficult.
The new “Group Message History” feature allows group admins and existing members to forward between 25 and 100 recent messages to newcomers, helping them catch up on the conversation.
By default, the original behaviour remains unchanged, meaning new members will still only see messages from their join date unless someone takes action to share earlier messages. Admins can also disable the setting for a specific group if they prefer.
When enabled, the feature allows forwarding of between 25 and 100 of the most recent messages, and all group members are notified when this happens. Forwarded messages are displayed with a distinct appearance to clearly indicate that they are historical, wabetainfo reports.
WhatsApp confirmed that these messages remain end-to-end encrypted, maintaining the same level of privacy as all chats on the platform. The feature also provides flexibility in how much history is shared. By default, only messages from the past 14 days are included, but users can select to share fewer messages, with options of 25, 50, 75, or 100 messages depending on their preference.
This allows groups to bring newcomers up to speed while keeping sensitive or older discussions private if desired.
WhatsApp described the update as a “quicker, more private way to keep conversations flowing, with no more screenshots and no more unnecessary message forwarding.”
Independent UK reports that the feature is currently being rolled out gradually to users worldwide.
WhatsApp described the update as: “Quicker, more private way to keep conversations flowing, with no more screenshots and no more unnecessary message forwarding.”
