Remember the Facebook era?
We add friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike simply to have a longer friends list. And then we get invited into the weirdest group chats with people whom we’re barely familiar with.
Come WhatsApp, and the same thing happens to those who give their phone number online without care. In fact, the soccer betting group chats are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Maybe you’ve never been affected, or maybe you’re just really confused as to why it’s needed.
Obviously, you need it when you want to keep the creeps out.
WhatsApp New Function:
Well, you can now say goodbye to the days of getting invited automatically into groups.
In comes the new privacy and invite settings.
Here’s How It Works
Here just to activate it because a few minutes ago, someone just added you into a soccer betting group (again)?
Wells.
Launch your WhatsApp app, and go to Settings.
Access your Account > Privacy > Groups and you’ll be given three choices:
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Toggling to ‘nobody’ doesn’t ban groups, though; now you have to approve every group invite.
And if you can’t be invited automatically, the individual inviting you will have to send a personal invite.
These invites only have a lifespan of three days and you won’t be able to join the group thereafter (unless a new invite is sent).
The feature has already rolled out to selected individuals but the company assures that it will be rolled out worldwide in the coming weeks.
So the question remains: why? Why such a drastic move?
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The Reason
Imagine if political groups were to convince your vote by sending you messages on WhatsApp.
Can you imagine the insult that Singaporeans would feel, thinking that people were trying to control our thoughts? How could they exploit our phone numbers to further their agenda? Granted, we give it out easily online — but still.
Singaporeans would be downright outraged.
And if you think that’s something that wouldn’t happen, it did.
That was exactly what happened during Brazil’s elections, and what is still happening in India.
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But honestly speaking, everyone in Goody Feed thinks that the only good reason is that they can stay out of soccer betting groups #justsaying
WhatsApp Stepping Up Their Game
Embroiled in controversies, WhatsApp realised that they needed to step up their game — big time. The limit on forwarding messages wasn’t working. It was time for them to attempt an even greater change.
Hence came the new privacy settings.
That said, WhatsApp’s new group chat settings are useful — except our accounts itself are already getting hacked into. Maybe they can come up with another setting to help us with the hacking situation.
Or maybe we can stop giving out our information online.
Ultimately, these new settings are here for us to have another option to say, “thanks, but no thanks.”
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