Users will be able to see "who can add me to a group", in privacy settings, following which they will get three options - Everyone, My contacts, Nobody.
WhatsApp is working on a feature that will let a user decide on whether he/she wants to join a group before being added to one. The feature would enable users to control which groups they wish to join and not be spammed with messages.
The group-invite feature is under beta testing for the iPhone version of the app. The feature is said to be released for Android testing as well. It was first seen by WABetaInfo that stated the group-invitation is currently inactive as it is in the early stages of development. The website indicated that once available, the feature would be located in the Privacy section of the app and users can access it by going to Settings> Account > Privacy > Groups. Users would then be able to see "Who can add me to a group" option, there are three options mentioned there - Everyone, My contacts, Nobody - and a user can opt for any one.
Users will then be given an option to "Accept" or "Decline" an invite as well. If a users selects Everybody, then anybody can add the user without the need for approving a request. If you select "My Contacts", you would get added directly to the group if the admin adds you, just like how it works at present. However, you would get an invite, if someone else from the group who is not the admin tries adding you to a group.
Lastly, if the 'Nobody' option is selected, a user will be prompted that a request to be added to a group is sent, which would expire 72 hours later. Users would not get a second request for the same group before the first request expires. Users can still join a group through the group link invite, no matter what their group invite settings are.
The feature is now in the TestFlight page and would be available in beta for all WhatsApp users who wish to try the new feature.
