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Friday, Aug 22, 2025

WhatsApp updates Group Privacy Settings on Android and iOS beta versions

WhatsApp updates Group Privacy Settings on Android and iOS beta versions

WhatsApp is remotely activating the Group Privacy Settings feature in iOS beta version 2.19.110.20 and Android beta version 2.19.298.
WhatsApp recently unveiled its group privacy setting for its Indian users. Now, the company has started testing the feature in other markets as well. The company has also made slight tweaks to the feature adding a new ‘My Contacts Except’ instead of the ‘Nobody’ option that was available earlier in the Group Privacy Settings feature, there is a new blacklist.

To use the setting, users on the WhatsApp beta on Android or iOS can head to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups. They will be shown three options: Everyone, My Contacts and My Contacts Except. This will allow users to block some contacts from adding them to a group.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is remotely activating the Group Privacy Settings feature in iOS beta version 2.19.110.20 and Android beta version 2.19.298. It states that the feature might not appear even after updating to the latest version, to activate it users are suggested to back up their chat history and reinstall WhatsApp.

In our case, we were able to spot the feature on iOS beta of WhatsApp after restarting and updating the app.

When the feature first rolled out it consisted of a ‘Nobody’ option too, which has now been replaced by the “My Contacts Except’ option. Users will now be able to select a few users or click on the ‘Select All’ option to include the entire contact list.

According to the report, if you add any new contacts to your phone, you will be required to go and manually add those additional contacts to the list. Separately, WhatsApp is also providing users with the ability to listen to voice messages consecutively on its WhatsApp Web interface too, noted the report.
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