WhatsApp releases new features, including individual mute option and better privacy control setting

Whatsapp has been busy for the past weeks in launching a series of features that will make it more ideal both for casual users and professionals. Friday last week, the head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, posted a tweet that gives us a glimpse of the newest features rolling out to the app, including the ability to mute certain users during group calls.

Some new features for group calls on @WhatsApp: You can now mute or message specific people on a call (great if someone forgets to mute themselves!), and we've added a helpful indicator so you can more easily see when more people join large calls. pic.twitter.com/fxAUCAzrsy

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) June 16, 2022

Muting some users during group calls is an important tool to encourage clarity in the verbal exchanges of participants. Zoom and Teams already have such a function, albeit it is only available for those hosting the calls. They can choose the individuals to mute, but managing a group call can sometimes be challenging for hosts, resulting in a terrible meeting where multiple individuals are simultaneously talking. That’s not something anyone would want to experience every time they join a call, so this new feature from WhatsApp is a lifesaver.

In an image shared by the WhatsApp head, users will be able to access this feature through a mute setting dedicated to each participant in the call. With this, you can select the individuals you only want to mute, which is helpful when other speakers forget to mute themselves. It will also be a handy choice when you’re in that same call as someone near you, preventing the irritating voice echoing effect during those moments.

Alongside the mute setting for each participant is the option to message them. This will give you easy access to specific users participating in the group call and is helpful when you need to make quick queries to a coworker about something. And when someone new joins the group call, a new indicator banner will highlight them to announce their arrival in a subtle manner.

? To further protect your privacy online, we’re rolling out new options to your privacy control settings ?

Now you can select who from your contact list can see your Profile Photo, About, and Last Seen status. For more information follow this link: https://t.co/UGMCx2n70h

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 15, 2022

Prior to these things, WhatsApp also launched other features last week focusing on users’ privacy control, wherein they can set who they just want to see their profile photos, About, and Last Seen status. It is a helpful feature for everyone using WhatsApp, especially those who have their personal contacts mixed with their professional connections within the platform.

The Meta-owned app has also been spotted experimenting with some new features in the past weeks. Two of them are the status reply indicator and the ‘order’ shortcut for business customers.