Meta owned messaging giant WhatsApp has started rolling out a new feature called Group Message History to make group chats easier to follow when someone new joins the existing group. Until now, WhatsApp users could only see messages sent after they joined a group. That often-left newcomers confused and forced others to send screenshots or forward old messages just to catch them up. With this update, WhatsApp is trying to change that and make group chats more organized and less frustrating for everyone.
The concept behind the new Group Message History feature is simple and useful. When a new person is added to a group, WhatsApp now gives members and admins an option to share a batch of recent messages so they can quickly understand what’s been discussed. You can choose to share anywhere between 25 and 100 of the latest messages which is enough to provide helpful context without dumping the whole chat history on the new member.
It’s important to know that this feature doesn’t happen automatically. WhatsApp won’t just send old messages without permission. Instead, every time someone is added to the group, you manually choose whether to share the recent history and how many messages to send. Admins also have full control and they can turn off this feature for their group if they want to keep message history private or simple. Despite being set off, admins can still share selected history later if needed.
WhatsApp says privacy remains strong with this update. Like all regular chats on the platform, shared message history is protected by end-to-end encryption. That means only people in the group can read the messages and no one else, not even WhatsApp, can see them.
To keep everything clear, WhatsApp also makes sure that the group is notified whenever history is shared. When old messages is shared with a new member, they are highlighted so they look different from normal messages. Each shared message also shows time stamps and sender details, so everyone knows exactly when and who sends the message.
WhatsApp says it began rolling out the Group Message History feature gradually from February 19-20, 2026, and it will reach more Android and iOS users in the coming days. To use it, people need to update the app to the latest version once the feature is available to them.
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
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