WhatsApp messenger owned by Facebook is reportedly working on a feature which will allow a group admin to remove privileges from other admins. Currently, when a group admin needs to remove admin status of a group member, he needs to remove them from the group and re-add them.
The “Dismiss As Admin” feature in the works will allow a particular admin to be demoted, instead of just removing them entirely from the group. This will be handy for the member of those groups which have multiple admins.
First reported by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is still developing this feature for iOS, but, it is available to Android users through the beta program. WhatsApp had earlier stated that it will try and increase the power of group admins wherein they could restrict messages, GIFs, etc, sent by members. ‘Restricted groups’ could see more control by admins.
The Facebook-owned messaging platform has submitted the “Restricted Groups” setting via Google Play Beta Programme in the version 2.17.430. The “Restricted Groups” setting can only be activated by group administrators. Administrators can keep sharing media and be chatting as normal as they restrict other members.
Once restricted, other members will simply have to read their messages and will not be able to respond. They will have to use the “Message Admin” button to post a message or share media to the group. The message will need to be approved by the administrator before going through to the rest of the group.
It was earlier reported by researchers that WhatsApp group chat might not be so secure and a malicious server could allow someone to be secretly added to the group. However, WhatsApp has pointed out that it does give notifications and alerts when a new user is added to the group. But researchers have also shown that this hacker could restrict group messages, alerts, etc once they are successfully added to the group.
Android users, who are eager to try out the feature to annoy other people can do so by installing WhatsApp beta version 2.18.12 for Android. Sign up for WhatsApp beta testing here.
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