WhatsApp Communities add a phone number privacy feature

WhatsApp has added an extra layer of privacy for community members on the platform.

Named “phone number privacy”, the feature gives a guarantee that your phone number is hidden from other members. As much as the participants’ list used to be hidden in the community announcement group, attempting to interact through message reactions was still able to reveal the reactor’s phone number.

With that being said, the new feature allows users react to messages without exposing their contact details.

WABetaInfo reported that initially, the feature was in testing among a limited group of users, and it now seems WhatsApp is expanding access to more users on the latest version of the app.

What the feature has to offer is that it adds a new option in the community announcement group info and will prompt users with an alert telling them that admins and people who have saved their number can still see their contact details.

Community admins’ numbers will remain visible to all participants. What the feature means is that users can interact with the community announcement group anonymously.

In communities that allow private conversations between members, participants can send others a request to share their phone numbers.

The feature is currently available to select WhatsApp beta testers on iOS and Android and will be available to more users in the coming days.