How to change group privacy settings

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We work diligently to reduce spam and unwanted contact on WhatsApp. However, just as anyone with your contact information can send you an SMS message or email, anyone with your phone number can add you to a group on WhatsApp.
By default, your group privacy settings are set to Everyone, to let you easily connect with friends and family, even if they’re not in your contacts list. For additional privacy, you can control who can add you to a group by adjusting your WhatsApp Settings. Learn more about how to change privacy settings.
You can also turn on Advanced chat privacy to control how messages and media in your group are shared outside of WhatsApp, learn more in this article.
Note:
  • Changes to group privacy settings can’t be made on WhatsApp Web or Desktop. When you change the settings on your phone, they sync with WhatsApp Web and Desktop.
  • Group privacy settings don't affect community Announcements. When you're in a community, you’re always added to community Announcements.
  • You can't directly block a group chat, but you can exit the group and block the group admin.

Change group privacy settings

  1. Click Settings.
  2. Click Privacy > Groups.
  3. Select one of the following options:
    • Everyone: Everyone, including people outside of your phone's address book contacts, can add you to groups without your approval.
    • My Contacts: Only contacts in your phone's address book can add you to groups without your approval. If a group admin who's not in your phone's address book tries to add you to a group, they'll get a pop-up that says they can't add you and will be prompted to tap Invite to Group or press Continue, followed by the send button, to send a private group invite through an individual chat. You'll have three days to accept the invite before it expires.
    • My Contacts Except...: Only contacts in your phone’s address book, except those you exclude, can add you to groups without your approval. After selecting My Contacts Except… you can search for or select contacts to exclude. If a group admin you exclude tries to add you to a group, they’ll get a pop-up that says they can’t add you and will be prompted to tap Invite to Group followed by the send button to send a private group invite through an individual chat. You'll have three days to accept the invite before it expires.
  4. If prompted, click
    Groups Check Mark (checkmark within circle)
    .
Note:
To disable Whatsapp group chat pop-up notifications on your desktop:
  1. Click Settings.
  2. Click Notifications.
  3. Switch off Message notifications.