Unknown numbers adding you to WhatsApp groups? Android and iOS users can change this setting to protect privacy

In the middle of the work day, or at late at night, a sudden notification from a random WhatsApp group can be quite irritating, especially when you have no idea who they are. It can also reveal your phone number and leave you dealing with unwanted messages and notifications. However, WhatsApp has a privacy setting that lets users decide who can add them to groups. Instead of allowing everyone to include you in a group, you can restrict this permission to people saved in your contacts or exclude specific individuals. Here is how to change the setting on your phone.

WhatsApp's default group privacy setting is set to Everyone. This means anyone with your phone number, including people who are not saved in your contacts, can add you to a group without asking for your permission first.

However, users can change this through the app's privacy settings. WhatsApp offers three options:


- Everyone: Anyone with your phone number can add you to a group directly, even if they are not in your contacts list.

- My contacts: Only people saved in your phone's address book can add you to groups. If an unknown admin tries to add you, they will be prompted to send a private group invitation instead. You will have three days to accept it before it expires.

- My contacts except...: You can prevent the selected contacts from adding you to groups. If the excluded person tries to add you, they can send a private invitation through an individual chat, which expires after three days.

How to stop unknown people from adding you to WhatsApp groups

Changing the setting takes only a few steps. Open WhatsApp on your phone and follow these instructions:

- Tap the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and select Settings on Android. On iPhone, tap Settings or your profile picture.

- Go to Privacy.

- Select Groups.

- Choose My contacts or My contacts except..., depending on whom you want to allow.

- If you select My contacts except..., search for and select the people you want to exclude.

- Tap Done if prompted.

WhatsApp also points out that these changes apply only to new groups. Similarly, leaving an unwanted group does not stop people from adding you to other groups in the future. There is another important detail. These privacy settings do not stop people from sharing group invitation links with you. You can still choose whether or not to join through such a link.

If someone repeatedly adds you to unwanted groups, you can exclude that person through My contacts except... or block them entirely. Blocking also stops other forms of communication from that contact.

WhatsApp's group privacy settings can only be changed through its mobile app, not WhatsApp Web or Desktop. However, once updated on your phone, the changes sync with both versions. The settings also do not affect community Announcements, where members are automatically added.