WhatsApp has just submitted a new update through the TestFlight beta Program, bringing the version up to 23.5.0.74. The version marked within WhatsApp Settings is 2.23.5.74 and the TestFlight build is 23.5.0 (454235429).
What’s new in this update? WhatsApp is rolling out a group setting to manage an admin approval system, for some beta testers!
| Common questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| Name of the feature? | Approve new participants |
| Status? | Rolling out |
| Compatibility? | WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.5.0.74 and newer versions are marked as compatible updates, but some users may be able to use the same feature on the latest update from the App Store. |
| I have the same version but I don’t have this feature, why? | This feature has been released to some beta testers. Please, wait for a future update in case it is not available for your account. |
| How to join the community on WhatsApp? | WABetaInfo Community |
| Thanks: | ismailhnd, Youssef Salem, Rubens, toineenzo, and Colin 524, for testing and reporting! |
| Previous news? | WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.6.9: what’s new? WhatsApp is rolling out a group setting to manage how to approve new group participants! |
838 days, 21 hours, 32 minutes and 56 seconds ago
Check out TestFlight or Twitter to discover when it's available.
APPROVE NEW PARTICIPANTS
In the past, we announced that WhatsApp was developing a new feature that would have allowed group admins to approve new participants when they join the group. In particular, group admins can manage membership approval by manually approving or rejecting requests from anyone who wishes to join by toggling this option. This feature has been enabled for some beta testers that install the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.6.9 update and it is now available for some users that install the WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.5.0.74 update, as well as newer versions of the app available on the TestFlight app:
As you can see in this screenshot, the “Approve new participants” option is available within the group settings section. Once this option is turned on, anyone who wants to join the group must be approved by a group administrator. When new members want to join the group and this option is enabled, group admins can review them by opening “Pending participants” within the group info screen or tapping the in-chat banner.
In our opinion, this feature is very useful as it offers several advantages:
- When this option is turned off, anyone can join a community subgroup without sending a request to the admin. In the past, this could lead to spam messages asking the community admin to be added to the subgroup. Finally, group members can join a subgroup without sending requests to the community admin.
- When this option is turned on, anyone who wants to join a group needs to be approved by a group administrator by opening a new section called “Pending participants”, available within group info. Thanks to this feature, group admins can ensure that only the desired members join the group, even when they try to join the group by using an invite link.
- This feature can be helpful for groups and communities with a large number of participants, as our community on WhatsApp. It can be really difficult to manage large groups and having the option to approve new participants can make the job easier for group admins.
The ability to let group admins decide how new participants can join a group by using an admin approval system is available for some beta testers that install the latest version of WhatsApp beta for iOS from the TestFlight app, and it is rolling out to even more people over the coming days. Note that this option may also be available for some users that install the latest WhatsApp for iOS 23.3.77 update from the App Store as it is currently rolling out to people on the stable release of the app.
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