WhatsApp to Seek User Consent when Added to Groups

As per the Indian Government guidelines, WhatsApp will now be required to seek user consent before adding them to any groups.

Adding to groups is just one aspect. After that follows the flooding of Good Morning messages which is then followed by discussions on how rude you are when you read the message and still don't reply.

The Government agencies have received a lot of complaints by users wherein they have claimed of being added to groups against their will. Also these complaints have been forwarded to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

In this regards, the government has written to WhatsApp stating that they take action in order to prevent this possibility in future. One of the ways include wherein the admin has the number of the user they wish to add in the group saved in their phonebook.

If a user has left the group twice, then that person should not be available to be added one more time. MeitY therefore urges WhatsApp to look into these extreme cases. It also provides a solution to incorporate push notifications into WhatsApp system wherein the user is notified before being added to a group.