Messaging platform WhatsApp first started letting users pin messages all the way back in December 2023. Though at the time, the duration for which a message stays pinned is pretty limited, not to mention rigid. Now, the Meta subsidiary has announced that you can choose to pin a message forever, which can be useful if the message is that important, or you simply want to decide when to unpin it on the fly.
The announcement was made via the official WhatsApp blog, alongside a few group chat-related changes. For groups that are constantly taking in new members, one helpful feature is allowing existing ones to share with the newbies the group’s chat history. Previously, this was something that could only be done at the moment of the new members joining. With the update, this can be done retroactively after they’ve joined.
Another addition is group statuses. If you have a status to share that’s relevant only to a specific group, you can do it for said group rather than using it as your own. Everyone in the group can view, react and add their own status if they choose to. Like the regular status, these disappear after 24 hours. Though with multiple members being able to share group statuses, there may be a scramble between members to put up statuses.
Finally, you can filter group messages by mentions and replies. This works similarly to notifications that still go through when you’ve muted a group, letting you filter in only unread messages that either mention you or are replying directly to you. As with notifications, this filter also allows @all messages to filter through.
WhatsApp does not mention when these features are being rolled out. But as is commonly the case, the blog post indicates that they are gradually making their way to everyone.
(Source: WhatsApp)
