Has WhatsApp released the “most annoying update ever”?

Anyone who has been in a large social media group chat will know how annoying they can be, with a constant streaming of buzzing coming from your phone, tablet or computer.

That’s why most platforms allow you to mute these chat groups, so you can check up on recent messages when you have time, and not have to deal with loads of notifications when new messages are posted.

However a recent update to mobile messaging app WhatsApp is being billed as “the most annoying ever”, because, as many are claiming, it bypasses the group chat mute option.

So, what’s the truth behind this update?

What it isn’t… The update doesn’t stop people being able to mute group chats. You can mute them just like before.

What it is… The update allows users to bypass the “mute” in specific messages by tagging a particular user in that message. That user will get a notification when they are tagged, regardless of whether they muted the conversation or not. This feature (currently) cannot be disabled, unless you decide to disallow ALL notifications from the WhatsApp app.

While the user gets a notification when they are tagged, the conversation is still muted. The user won’t get notified when further messages appear, just when they get specifically tagged by someone.

Anyone can tag any user if they belong to the same group chat message, regardless of whether they are WhatsApp contacts.

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Why are WhatsApp introducing this option?

It appears that the mobile message app is making a move to provide useful features for larger groups (they recently extended the maximum people that can be in a group to 256.)

With chats with hundreds of participants, it’s unlikely a user will stay updated with all new messages, and the chances they will mute larger group are increased. This update provides a way where users can be notified to messages relevant to them.

Not only can WhatsApp be used for document sharing now, you can also reply directly to specific messages as well. It means large WhatsApp groups will work in a similar way to Facebook groups.

Advantages of the update: Users can be alerted to message relevant to them without having to regularly check up on the group.

Disadvantages of the update: Users may be irked they’re getting notifications from groups they’ve muted, and there doesn’t appear to be a way of disabling it.

What do you think? Annoying or useful? Let us know.