Feature gives administrators control over whether new members can access recent chat history

This illustration photograph taken on December 1, 2025, shows the logo of US instant messaging software WhatsApp displayed on a smartphone’s screen, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. The European Commission told Meta on February 9, 2026 to give rival chatbots access to its WhatsApp messaging service after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules.PHOTO FILE: AFP

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has begun rolling out a long-awaited update that allows new group chat members to see recent conversation history sent before they joined the group.

The Group Message History feature gives group admins and existing members the option to share between 25 and up to 100 recent messages with someone who has just been added. Previously, newcomers could only see messages sent after they joined, often leading to confusion in active group chats.

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According to WhatsApp’s official announcement on its blog, the history is not shared automatically, and must be manually selected when adding the person to the group. Shared messages appear visually distinct from regular chat, include sender names and timestamps, and all participants are notified when such history is sent.

Admins also have the ability to disable the feature entirely for their groups if they choose.

WhatsApp says the rollout has started on both Android and iOS devices, and will reach users globally over the coming weeks. Messages shared through the feature remain end-to-end encrypted, maintaining the platform’s existing privacy protections.