WhatsApp could soon notify you when someone mentions you in a group chat

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

What you need to know

WhatsApp is testing notifications when someone mentions you in a group chat.
Notifications are only triggered from within group chats, not one-on-one chats.
There is no telling when the feature will be made available to everyone, but it's currently in the latest TestFlight build.

The popular cross-platform instant messaging app WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will see people receive notifications when they are mentioned in a group message. While only currently available to those who are running the latest developer beta of WhatsApp via TestFlight, it's hoped that we will all be able to take advantage of it in the future.

The feature, which was first noted by WABetaInfo, is part of WhatsApp version 22.1.71 and adds notifications only when people are mentioned in a group chat — the same notification isn't currently triggered from within a one-on-one chat.

Whatsapp Beta Mention Notification Screenshot (Image credit: WABetaInfo)

As you can see in this screenshot, in the first image someone replied to me, and the notification reports this information. In the second image, someone has mentioned me in a message, so the notification reports this event as well.Note that the information about replies and mentions are added in notifications when you receive messages from group chats. WhatsApp didn't enable this feature for individual chats.

WhatsApp is currently one of the best iPhone apps for staying in touch with people, especially when they use an Android device and iMessage isn't available. The updates keep coming thick and fast and the app continues to improve — something that goes a long way to making WhatsApp an easy recommendation despite the fact it's owned by Meta.

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.