WhatsApp Gets a Handy @all Feature for Group Chats
Taken together, it’s a clear signal of WhatsApp’s reliance on group chats as one of its defining features.The platform’s latest update is designed to improve its usage, and it’s rolling out gradually. It has, however, also clearly anticipated the feature’s spam potential.The spam safeguards thus work on two levels. In groups larger than 32 people, only admins can trigger @all, and the override itself has an off switch.
- ▪Taken together, it’s a clear signal of WhatsApp’s reliance on group chats as one of its defining features.The platform’s latest update is designed to improve its usage, and it’s rolling out gradually.
- ▪It has, however, also clearly anticipated the feature’s spam potential.The spam safeguards thus work on two levels.
- ▪In groups larger than 32 people, only admins can trigger @all, and the override itself has an off switch.
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| Original publisher | WIRED |
| Canonical URL | https://www.wired.com/story/whatsapp-gets-a-handy-all-feature-for-group-chats/ |
| Publication time | Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-08T09:05:41.838Z |
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Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Megan Tomos GearAug 8, 2026 5:00 AMWhatsApp Gets a Handy @all Feature for Group ChatsA new software update builds on WhatsApp’s group chat chops by adding anonymous polls and introducing an easier way to start a smaller private chat away from the larger group.Courtesy of WhatsApp.CommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyThe group chat is the last truly heavyweight institution of modern life. It’s one of the most reliable means of daily communication, used for just about anything from planning to catching up.WhatsApp is counting over 3 billion users, and it’s a fair bet most of them are in at least one group chat; the platform has supported groups of up to 1,024 members since 2022.An update that began rolling out on August 4 follows a run of group-focused…
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