WhatsApp update stops people having to come up with good names for groups

Groups will simply be named after the people in them

Andrew Griffin
Wednesday 23 August 2023 10:17 EDT
Comments
Meta’s WhatsApp is introducing generative AI features to its messaging app
Meta’s WhatsApp is introducing generative AI features to its messaging app (iStock/ Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

WhatsApp will finally let people create group chats without having to come up with a clever name for them – or any name at all.

Users will instead be able to just make a group and then have that group name itself after the people inside of it.

WhatsApp suggested that the tool will be useful when “you need to create a group in a hurry, or you don’t have a group topic in mind”.

It will be available for group chats with up to six people in them.

The group names will be changed dynamically, depending on who is in the group. The group name will display differently for each user in it, depending on how they have people saved in their phone.

If someone is added to a group with people who don’t have that person saved, then their phone number will show instead.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the feature on Facebook. “Making it simpler to start WhatsApp groups by naming them based on who’s in the chat when you don’t feel like coming up with another name,” he wrote, sharing a picture of how the new groups will look.

(Meta)

The feature is rolling out “globally over the next few days”, Meta said.

It is one of a number of small tweaks that have been added to WhatsApp in recent weeks. Most recently, it fixed a major frustration that meant that pictures would be shrunk when they were sent within a group.

The company is also quietly working on other features, including the addition of generative AI to create new stickers just by describing them.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in