WhatsApp Is Working On a ‘Vacation’ and ‘Silent’ Mode for Group Chats

• WhatsApp is working on better notification management settings for group chats on the messaging app.
• Users will soon be able to hide notification badges and unread count for groups that have been muted.
• ‘Vacation’ and ‘Silent’ mode for groups are not yet available on all platforms as the features are still a work-in-progress.

Users who are plagued with countless notifications from groups they do not want to be a part of on WhatsApp will soon get some respite. Currently, even if you mute notifications from groups you still get an unread counter on your app, and the messages keep showing up as part of your recent messages instead of being hidden until you exclusively access them.

Image Courtesy of WABetaInfo

The messaging app is set to get two new features that will help you avoid those pesky notifications for good. WhatsApp is currently working on a Vacation mode which will allow you to keep all muted archived chats hidden from view. Even if you get a new message, it will not pop up at the top of your chats. Only when a message is specifically sent to you will receive a notification.

Unlike Vacation mode, WhatsApp’s new Silent mode hides notification badges from chats and does not indicate the number of messages that you have received from both muted chats as well as groups. Silent mode is enabled by default whenever you mute a chat. The feature is already rolling out to Android devices, but there is no word on when it will be made available to iOS users yet.

The app has already received a number of changes this year to its groups feature with added admin controls and other changes to restrict fake news on the platform. WhatsApp is undergoing massive changes with the rise in fake news and controversy surrounding the app, especially in India. The app was criticized for not taking responsibility and preventing avoidable incidents on the platform. With end-to-end encryption preventing access to user data, the platform is currently working on a solution to stop the rise of fake news while also offering a secure platform to communicate.

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