• 2 min read
WhatsApp adds @all mentions and smarter group polls
WhatsApp adds @all mentions, anonymous polls with deadlines, and one-tap group creation for spinning off side conversations.
Image: 9to5Mac
WhatsApp is rolling out three group-chat upgrades today, led by @all, a mention that alerts every member at once. The update also adds deadline controls and privacy options for polls, plus a faster way to split a discussion into a new group.
@all mentions and notification controls
The new @all mention lets any group member notify everyone without tagging people individually. WhatsApp positions it for urgent messages such as school or office closures, event deadlines, and last-minute changes to plans.
The alert will surface even when the group itself is muted. Users can still mute @all mentions separately in WhatsApp’s notification settings. In groups with more than 32 members, only admins can use the feature, a restriction intended to limit notification abuse in larger chats.
Polls gain deadlines, anonymity, and editing
WhatsApp is adding three changes to polls:
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- Hidden voter names, allowing participants to vote without revealing their choices to other members.
- End times that automatically lock voting once the deadline passes.
- A 15-minute editing window for poll creators to correct typos or clarify the question after posting.
These changes make polls more useful for decisions that need a firm cutoff, while anonymous voting removes the pressure of publicly attaching a choice to a person. WhatsApp’s earlier poll implementation did not offer these controls, so this is a functional upgrade rather than a visual refresh.
Create a new group from an existing one
A new “Create a similar group” button in the group details screen lets users start a separate chat with members from an existing group in a single tap. Instead of adding participants one by one, people can spin off a side conversation for a specific project, topic, or private plan.
WhatsApp suggests uses such as planning a surprise party without cluttering—or alerting—the main group. The feature also builds on the service’s broader work on group organization, including Group Message History, which we previously reported as a way to give new members context when they join an established conversation.
MacRumors additionally reported that WhatsApp has more than 100 million users in the US and more than 3 billion globally. It described today’s changes as a continuation of group-chat updates introduced earlier this year, including message history, member tags, and event reminders.
The most consequential feature is also the easiest to misuse: @all can cut through a muted chat for time-sensitive news, but users must actively disable it if a group starts treating every message as urgent.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
