HowTo

How to stop someone from adding you to unwanted WhatsApp groups

It is quite irritating when you take your phone and open WhatsApp, and you find out you have been added to several unwanted/unknown groups. Sometimes, you may have an idea of the group because you were added to it by a known contact. However, most of the time you were added to the group by an unknown person.

Fortunately, WhatsApp added a new privacy feature that filters out who should add us to which WhatsApp groups. The new privacy settings give us maximum control over what WhatsApp groups we would like to join. Although WhatsApp by default has enabled the Everyone option to allow anyone to add us to any group, we will be looking at how to change the WhatsApp group privacy settings to suit our needs in various operating systems.

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How to stop others from adding you to unwanted WhatsApp groups (iOS)

Open your WhatsApp app and head to Settings.
Select Account and choose Privacy.
Under Privacy Tap on Groups.

By default, WhatsApp sets to “Everyone” & toggle and select “Contacts“, or “Contacts Except”.

How to stop others from adding you to random groups (Android)

Open your WhatsApp & Tap on the three dots at the top right corner.
Select Settings and Tap on Account.
Select Privacy and Tap on Groups.

Toggle on who can add you to WhatsApp groups and select Done.

Everyone: WhatsApp will allow anyone to add you to random groups without your approval. It does not matter whether you have saved their contact or not.

My Contacts: Anyone adding you to WhatsApp groups must be people in your address book only. If a group admin tries to add you to a group, they will receive a prompt that they can’t add you. They could send the invite via individual chat, which you have three(3) days to accept before the invitation expires.

My Contacts Except: WhatsApp allows you to select only a group of people from your contact list to add you to groups. This way you can filter out who in your contact list can add you to groups. 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.

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Joseph Appiah-Duku

Joseph Appiah-Duku is a Digital Marketing Specialist at NALO Solutions, leveraging his IT background to excel in PPC, SEO, and content marketing. His career began in IT, but extensive training in digital marketing facilitated a seamless transition. Joseph's expertise has driven significant month-on-month increases in traffic and sign-ups at NALO Solutions. He has authored articles on SEO algorithm changes, guiding businesses in adapting to industry shifts. In addition to his writing, Joseph hosts video shows and webinars, engaging audiences and promoting NALO Solutions as a passionate brand ambassador. His commitment to the company's values and solutions is evident in all his endeavors. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sci-fi movies and learning new languages, showcasing his love for continuous learning.

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View Comments

Jaunty says:

August 27, 2021 at 9:06 am

Well delivered and that's a great content
Jaunty says:

August 27, 2021 at 9:19 am

Woow!! didn't know about this, helped alot