WhatsApp has been adding several new features focused on improving groups and communities on its platform since late last year. Earlier this year, we saw the Meta-owned messaging giant add support for up to 32 users for group calls along with a new UI. Additionally, we saw the company test a new group poll feature and the ability to leave a group silently. And now, WhatsApp is developing another group-centric feature that will enable group admins to manually approve memberships. Here are the details!
WhatsApp Tests New Group Membership Approval Feature
According to a recent report by reputable WhatsApp beta tracker WABetaInfo, the admin approval feature for memberships was spotted in the latest WhatsApp Android beta version 2.22.14.6. With this update, WhatsApp has added new gender-neutral emojis and a new “Group Membership Approval” feature that prevents users from joining a WhatsApp group via an invite link without the approval of the group admin.
This feature resides in the group settings from where admins can enable or disable it for their WhatsApp groups. Once enabled, group members will get a notification, announcing that the group admin has enabled “admin approval” for joining the group. You can check out a preview of the new feature in the screenshot below.
After enabling the new feature for a group, users who get an invite link to join the WhatsApp group will need manual approval by the group admins. In fact, admins will get a new dedicated section to manage incoming joining requests from users on the group info page.
As for the availability of the new admin approval feature, WABetaInfo says that it is currently under development and will be released with a future update. So, stay tuned for further updates, and let us know your thoughts on the new Group Membership Approval feature on WhatsApp in the comments below.
