Claim: Viral post on WhatsApp claims that there has been some changes in the platform’s group privacy settings which allow users to be added to any group even by someone who is not in their contact lists.
Verdict: Partly False. This is not new and can only be possible if the user has allowed this by selecting “Everyone” in their privacy group settings.
Full Text
A viral WhatsApp message claims there has been a change in WhatsApp’s group privacy settings after the external system breakdown.
Verification
A WhatsApp user can be added to any group if they have set their group settings to “Everyone.”
However, they cannot be added to a group by persons who are not on the user’s contact list if it is set to “My Contacts.”
In these settings, users have been given a chance to operate in their own space.
Dubawa contacted the WhatsApp Support Team and was informed that indeed, anyone can be added to a group if the option “Everyone” is selected instead of “My Contacts,” with the latter ensuring that the individual is added only to groups created by people in their personal contact list only.
We tested this and found it to be true.
When the group setting was turned on to “Contacts,” another WhatsApp user cannot automatically add you to a group but would rather have to invite you to join a group.
This setting, however, has not been changed. It is not newly updated as it has been so for a long time. Users have always had the option of changing their group settings to what is preferred by them.
Conclusion
WhatsApp has not made any changes or updates to the already existing group privacy settings. All users are free to change the group settings to their preferred choice.
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