WhatsApp Gets Shareable Links Feature for Group Chat Invites
WhatsApp has been testing a number of features for its instant messaging app, all of which first perform in the beta version. A few weeks ago, the company was testing a feature that permits group administrators to send request links via third-party apps to add new members to the group. Until now, we were required to modify the app APK to get the feature, and it only operated on rooted devices. Though, the feature has now gone live in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android (version 2.16.281).
To access the new link feature, administrators will have to tap on the add participant option to get the "Invite to a group via the link" on top of the contacts. Once selected, the "Invite link" page will open with text reading, "Anyone with WhatsApp can follow this link to join this group. Only share it with people you trust." WhatsApp users will get a share link alongside other options for Send link via WhatsApp, copy link, share link, and revoke link. There's another option to get a print group QR code option where new members can just scan the QR code to join a group.
Tapping the button produces a unique URL that can be shared with family, friends, and the public in three ways —encoded in a QR code, written to a physical NFC tag or sent as a message via a third-party application,
Before this month, finally, WhatsApp allowed the mentions feature on its Android as well as iPhone app. The mention feature worked same as it does on Twitter and Facebook. Users will use "@" sign in a group chat and the app will automatically suggest names of the group members. Particularly, the feature is currently limited to group chats only.
One more feature has also been added to this latest build of the beta. It’s a quick forward button — related to the one that started making the rounds on iOS previous this month — that permits users easily share media to other conversations.