{"id":223761,"date":"2026-01-08T19:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T19:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223761\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T19:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T19:56:16","slug":"whatsapp-finally-releases-update-to-make-group-chats-less-confusing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223761\/","title":{"rendered":"WhatsApp finally releases update to make group chats less confusing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"The logo of US instant messaging software Whatsapp displayed on a smartphone's screen, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on 1 December, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)\" loading=\"eager\" height=\"640\" width=\"960\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> The logo of US instant messaging software Whatsapp displayed on a smartphone&#8217;s screen, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on 1 December, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/whatsapp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WhatsApp;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">WhatsApp<\/a> is rolling out three new updates in an effort to simplify the world\u2019s most popular messaging app.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The upgrades will apply to group chats, with the biggest change being that of Member Tags. This will allow users to add a tag to their name within individual groups in order to give more context about who they are.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">It could apply to WhatsApp groups where people share the same first name, or within groups where members are not yet familiar with other participants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The upgrade follows a broader shift by WhatsApp in recent years that has seen the Meta-owned app evolve from a messaging app used among friends and family, to a platform that now supports larger communities brought together by a shared interest, like fantasy football or a parents group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">\u201cWe all wear different hats and sometimes you want to give that more context in a group chat,\u201d WhatsApp noted in a <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.whatsapp.com\/level-up-your-whatsapp-group-chats-with-new-member-tags-text-stickers-and-more\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:blog post;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">\u201cNow you can give yourself a tag that tells the group what your role is, and can be customized for each group you\u2019re in. So you can be \u2018Anna&#8217;s Dad\u2019 in one group, and \u2018Goalkeeper\u2019 in another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The other two new features being introduced to WhatsApp are text stickers and event reminders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">This will allow users to turn any word into a sticker by typing the text into Sticker Search, while event reminders let members set custom reminders ahead of a party or group call.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">WhatsApp did not give a timeline for the launch of the new updates, though they typically introduce them gradually depending on people\u2019s operating system and location.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">The latest updates come as the company faces increased scrutiny about its security practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-vbsvxt\">In late November, security researchers uncovered a critical vulnerability within WhatsApp that <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/whatsapp-security-flaw-exposes-3-123156818.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:exposed the phone numbers of more than 3 billion users;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">exposed the phone numbers of more than 3 billion users<\/a> worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The logo of US instant messaging software Whatsapp displayed on a smartphone&#8217;s screen, in Frankfurt am Main, western&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[33918,43953,111,139,69,133998,145,19607,133997],"class_list":{"0":"post-223761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-group-chat","9":"tag-messaging-app","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-parents-group","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-whatsapp","16":"tag-whatsapp-groups"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}