WhatsApp trick lets you quietly leave group chats WITHOUT alerting everyone  

Going out with friends, shared interests or a family reunion? If the inevitable “hey, let’s create a WhatsApp group” and the impending deluge of notifications and emojis fill you with dread… there’s a handy escape you can use without stepping on too many toes.

A sneaky new WhatsApp trick lets you quietly leave groups without alerting everyone.

The messaging app has now introduced a feature that allows users to leave chats without feeling embarrassed or causing too much drama.

Slip quietly: Make sure “only group admins are notified” when you leave group chats

To put even more distance between you and your old ‘group chat’ friends… turn off read receipts.

Last year it appeared that WhatsApp was testing a new feature, which was first noticed by independent WhatsApp experts WABetaInfo.

And earlier this year, the messaging giant snuck into the feature for good.

It allows users to silently leave group chats without sending a notification to other members.

This means that if you’ve been added to chats you don’t want to be a part of, or if plans for an event are long over, you can now slip up and avoid awkward moments.

The new feature can also prevent awkward confrontations with more sensitive group members who might take your departure badly.

With this new feature, only the group admin will be notified of your departure.

Of course, group members can see that you’re gone when they look at the list of participants on the group detail page.

Before the feature was introduced, WhatsApp sent a notification to the entire group when someone left.

But with the new rollout, once users enable the feature in their WhatsApp settings, they will no longer be able to see the message, regardless of which group you choose to leave from.

One thing to note though is that admins – the people who created the group – can’t use this feature in that particular chat.

Therefore, they can only leave in groups they are not in charge of.

How to leave chats on Android?

For Android users, they can simply touch and hold the group you want to leave from.

Then they need to tap on the three dots icon in the top right corner of their screen.

Select Exit.

You will then see a message on the screen that says: “Only group admins will be notified that you have left the group.”

How to leave chats on iPhone?

Those who use an iPhone or have WhatsApp installed on their Apple device must swipe left on the group they want to leave.

Tap More.

Then click Exit.

Users will see an on-screen message that says, “Only group admins will be notified that you have left the group.”

Otherwise, if you’re concerned about the backlash you might get from leaving a group, you can disable read receipts.

This means that your contacts will no longer be able to see when you have viewed their message.

Note, however, that if you disable your read receipts, you will also not be able to see when others have read your messages.

To deactivate read messages you must:

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Go to Settings
3. Dan Accounts
4. Click Privacy
5. Next, turn off the toggle for Read Receipts