Like the automatic ways you get added to groups on Facebook, group chats on WhatsApp can be annoying. There seems to be no way around groups on the chat platform as most people are on a minimum of 2 -- church, school and work top the list -- but with the mute button at least you can rest easy from (incessant) notifications.
A new feature has been added to WhatsApp. You can now tag people in a group chat by directing messages at them. This feature is suspect in that it bypasses the mute button and sends a notification to the user if they are tagged in the thread.
The update was released quietly without any fuss or formal announcement via the WhatsApp blog as is the usual practice.
Even though you can tag an unlimited number of participants at once, the new update does not make it a Slack or any sufficient tool for team collaborations.
This update seemingly tears a linen off the lean privacy curtain that covered our interactions with WhatsApp.
Since its acquisition by Facebook and removal of the $1 annual subscription fee WhatsApp has seen plenty updates and additions that have been strategically geared towards making it a profitable platform.
Like the move that saw them sharing your data with Facebook, the inclusion of the Financial Times to enable business communications among others, most of these updates have the Facebook business model written all over them. However, on the other hand, the platform is free and they have to make money so we endure.
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