How to Avoid Being Added to Spam WhatsApp Groups

Do you keep receiving unwanted messages from random WhatsApp groups that you never asked to join? Spam groups can be annoying, but you can change one setting to limit their number. Let’s see how you can adjust your WhatsApp settings and protect yourself from spam messages. You can then adopt better privacy policies to keep your chats free of inappropriate content.

Configure your WhatsApp group invitation settings.

The instructions and screenshots below are taken from the WhatsApp iOS app. The steps for Android are similar, with minor changes.

1. Open WhatsApp and tap Settings . On Android, the settings are located in the kebab menu (three vertical dots) in the top right corner.

2. Tap Privacy on the Settings screen.

3. Select Groups . You will see several options for “ Who can add me to groups?” “

4. The default value is “Everyone” . Anyone who has your phone number can add you to any group. Here are three more settings that give different levels of control.

• My Contacts: Only people in your address book can add you to groups. They will need to send you a personal invitation for approval within 72 hours.

• My contacts except : provides more detailed control. Select this option and select specific contacts to exclude from adding you to groups.

• Nobody: This gives you full control and is the recommended setting. You must explicitly give your permission when you receive an invitation from a WhatsApp group. WhatsApp on Android doesn’t show this option (and some iOS users may not see it) – instead, select “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except” and manually select people if you have contacts that are trying to send spam. You. (If you don’t have the Nobody option and you really don’t want to receive invitations, select My Contacts Except and then Select All.)

You will still receive invite links in your private message to join the group. But now you have a choice. If you want to join the group, you will have three days to accept the invitation before it expires.

Note. Group privacy settings cannot be changed on WhatsApp Web or Desktop. When you change the settings on your phone, they will be synced with WhatsApp Web and Desktop. Additionally, this setting does not apply to community announcements; if you are in a community, you will always be added to it.

More Tips to Avoid Unwanted WhatsApp Groups

WhatsApp makes it easy to send and share text messages, making it easy to overlook some basic privacy rules.

1. Don’t share your number publicly online. Spammers can collect contact information from social sites.

2. Avoid clicking on unknown links or phishing emails that use link shorteners from unknown sources.

3. Be wary of messages written in urgent language or from unknown senders.

4. If you accidentally join a spamming group, you can report it by clicking on the group’s information and selecting Report Group . Then select Leave Group to leave the group. You can archive a WhatsApp group and hide it from view.

5. WhatsApp also has a privacy checker tool. It’s like a guide that will guide you to the ideal settings to apply and control your privacy within the app.

Tip: While you’re at it, configure another setting to mute all unknown and spam calls on WhatsApp .

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