WhatsApp to begin warning people when they receive messages from businesses

Whatsapp Group Message on iPhone X (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz/iMore)

What you need to know

WhatsApp is testing a new feature to warn people when they receive a message from a business.
Any business that isn't already in the recipient's contacts will trigger the warning.

Popular instant messaging platform WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will see people receive a new warning message when they receive a message from a business that isn't in their contacts. When the message is received, people will see a new interface and be given the option to either block the business entirely or add them to their contacts.

The new feature, which was reported by WABetaInfo, is currently being tested by a portion of people who are part of the WhatsApp TestFlight beta program.

As you can see in this screenshot, when you receive a message from unknown business accounts, a different and updated view is shown: this view explains that you have received a message from a business that's not saved in your contact list. In this case, you can choose between two different options: block or save in your contact list.The redesigned view is available to specific beta testers, and more activations will be following in the next updates.

Wabetainfo Whatsapp Unknown Business Screenshot (Image credit: WABetaInfo)

WhatsApp is already one of the best iPhone apps for sending and receiving instant messages, especially with those using Android devices. New features like this are most welcome and will only strengthen the app's place on many Home screens.

It's also important to remember that this feature us currently available in beta and there is no telling when, if ever, it'll be made available to everyone. However, WhatsApp is normally pretty good at getting these things through the beta channel and into the App Store.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.