There is no doubt that WhatsApp is the world's most used messaging app. And to maintain this position, the Metaowned messaging platform continues to work to improve the user experience, either through new features or improved privacy protection. The WhatsApp group chat feature is one of the most used as it allows users with similar interests to connect and communicate. That's why WhatsApp has introduced Communities and is adding new privacy features to give the admin more control over groups. One thing that worries many group administrators is that anyone can join a group using an invite link. It is a major security concern because an uninvited participant can be harmful to the integrity of the group. To combat this problem, WhatsApp has rolled out a new update that allows group admins to have better control over who is willing to join a group. So in this guide, we've explained how to use the new "Pending Participants" feature to approve who can or can't join a group.

In this article, we have shared how group admins can enable the "Approve New Members" feature on WhatsApp groups. But before that, we have explained what this new feature is and why it is important for users.

Previously, any user with an invite link could join a WhatsApp group. This was considered a privacy issue as many groups are forced to have intimate or confidential conversations. Administrators must have power over who can and cannot join a group. The new WhatsApp update focuses on this aspect, as a new "Participant Participants" feature has been introduced.

With this feature, group admins can now allow or deny someone to join the conversation. When this feature is enabled, even if a user has an invite link to a group, they will now have to wait for approval from the group admin.