WhatsApp announced five new group chat features on Tuesday, including an “@all” tag that sends notifications to every member of a group.
The company said the “@all” function is available to all group members, but in groups of more than 32 people its use is limited to admins.
Typing “@all” in a message triggers a notification for everyone in the chat, including in cases where the group has been muted. Users can choose a notification setting that mutes “@all” alerts.
WhatsApp also expanded poll functions in group chats with three new options. Users can now set an end time for polls, hide responders’ names, and edit poll questions within 15 minutes of posting.
The end-time setting lets users establish a deadline for responses. The hidden-name option is aimed at polls that users may consider sensitive.
WhatsApp also added a way to create a new group chat from an existing group. The feature lets users form smaller chats without rebuilding the participant list from scratch.
WhatsApp said the new group creation tool can be used to plan a surprise party or coordinate event logistics.
Featured image credit
