The popular messaging app WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is undergoing a significant transformation by introducing features previously known mainly from competing platforms. The key new additions are a content-hiding system (so-called spoiler mode) and the ability to share parts of conversation history with newly added group participants. These changes aim to improve the comfort of group communication and protect users from unwanted information about movies or books.
Introduction of Spoiler Mode
Users will be able to hide text fragments under a gray mask, which the recipient will uncover only after clicking on the message bubble.
Access to Conversation History
New group participants will gain insight into the last 25-100 messages sent before they joined, which will help them get oriented in the topic.
Conveniences for Administrators
Administrators will decide on sharing the history, eliminating the need to duplicate messages for each new person.
Competition with Rivals
The new features put WhatsApp in a better position against Telegram and iMessage, offering tools previously unavailable on them.
The messaging app WhatsApp is rolling out a series of innovations that are set to fundamentally change the way interactions work in group chats. The first key new feature is the "Spoiler" function. It allows users to mask selected text fragments under a gray bar, which becomes readable only after the recipient directly clicks on it. This solution is modeled on the system known from the Telegram messenger, designed to protect pop culture enthusiasts from accidentally learning the endings of series or book plots. The new formatting option will appear alongside standard tools such as bold or italic. The second groundbreaking change is the Group Message History function, which addresses one of the app's oldest shortcomings. Until now, new group members saw only a blank screen instead of previous discussions. The new update will enable group administrators to share the last 25 to 100 messages with people who have just joined the conversation. This will facilitate the acclimatization process and planning of joint activities without the need for other participants to copy and resend the same information. WhatsApp was founded in 2009 as a simple alternative to paid SMS messages, and in 2014 it was acquired by Facebook (now Meta) for the astronomical sum of $19 billion, which became one of the largest transactions in the history of the technology industry. Currently, these features are in the beta testing phase, but their global rollout for Android and iOS systems is expected in the coming months. Experts note that this move gives WhatsApp an advantage over Apple's iMessage system, which still struggles with similar limitations in managing group history. These changes are part of Meta's broader strategy to transform the messenger into a multifunctional platform for work and personal communication. „Our goal is to make group conversations more transparent and less invasive for users who want full control over what and when they read.” — Meta Representative