Groups have been an important part of the WhatsApp experience, whether it's family members connecting across the globe or childhood friends staying in touch over the years. There are also people coming together in groups on WhatsApp like new parents looking for support, students organizing study sessions, and even city leaders coordinating relief efforts after natural disasters. Today, we're sharing improvements that we've made to groups.

What's New

• Group description: A short blurb found under group info that allows you to set the purpose, guidelines, or topics for the group. When a new person joins a group, the description will show up at the top of the chat.
• Admin controls: In group settings, there's now a control that allows admins to restrict who can change the group's subject, icon, and description.
• Group catch up: When you've been away from a group chat, quickly catch up on messages that mention or reply to you by tapping on a new @ button that appears at the bottom right corner of the chat.
• Participant search: Find anyone in a group by searching for participants on the group info page.
• Admins can now remove admin permissions of other group participants, and group creators can no longer be removed from the group they started.

We've also introduced protection so users can't be repeatedly added to groups they've left. These features are available for Android and iPhone users today. We hope you enjoy these new updates!

Next month, the European Union is updating its privacy laws to require greater transparency for how people's information is used online. WhatsApp is updating our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy where the law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is taking effect.

We are not asking for new rights to collect personal information with this update. Our goal is simply to explain how we use and protect the limited information we have about you. There are a few things we want to highlight:

• WhatsApp in Europe: WhatsApp has established an entity within the European Union to provide your services there and to meet the new high standards of transparency for how we protect the privacy of our users.
• Data sharing: We are not currently sharing account information to improve your product and ads experience on Facebook. As we have said in the past, we want to work closer with other Facebook companies in the future and we will keep you updated as we develop our plans.
• Staying safe on WhatsApp: When we receive reports of a bad actor sending unwanted messages - like SPAM or abusive content - on either WhatsApp or Facebook, we share information and can take action including blocking them across both services. You can learn more about how to stay safe on WhatsApp by reviewing these safety tips.

WhatsApp cares deeply about your privacy and security. Every message and call is secured by end-to-end encryption so that no one, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to your conversations. In the coming weeks, you will be able to download and see the limited data that we collect. This feature will be rolling out to all users around the world on the newest version of the app. To learn more, click here.

We welcome your feedback and we thank you for using WhatsApp!

People all around the world use WhatsApp to connect with small businesses they care about — from online clothing companies in India to auto parts stores in Brazil. But WhatsApp was built for people and we want to improve the business experience. For example, by making it easier for businesses to respond to customers, separating customer and personal messages, and creating an official presence.

So today we're launching WhatsApp Business — a free-to-download Android app for small businesses. Our new app will make it easier for companies to connect with customers, and more convenient for our 1.3 billion users to chat with businesses that matter to them. Here's how:

• Business Profiles: Help customers with useful information such as a business description, email or store addresses, and website.
• Messaging Tools: Save time with smart messaging tools — quick replies that provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages that introduce customers to your business, and away messages that let them know you're busy.
• Messaging Statistics: Review simple metrics like the number of messages read to see what's working.
• WhatsApp Web: Send and receive messages with WhatsApp Business on your desktop.
• Account Type: People will know that they're talking to a business because you will be listed as a Business Account. Over time, some businesses will have Confirmed Accounts once it’s been confirmed that the account phone number matches the business phone number.

People can continue using WhatsApp as usual — there's no need to download anything new. And people will continue to have full control over the messages they receive, with the ability to block any number, including businesses, as well as report spam.

Over 80% of small businesses in India and Brazil say WhatsApp helps them both communicate with customers and grow their business today (Source: Morning Consult study). And WhatsApp Business will make it easier for people to connect with them, and vice versa, in a fast and simple way.

WhatsApp Business is available today and free to download on Google Play in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S. The app is rolling out around the world in the coming weeks. This is just the beginning!

Starting today you can now delete messages you sent by mistake — whether to one person or an entire group. Here's how it works: tap and hold on the message, choose "Delete," and then "Delete for everyone." You have seven minutes to delete the message after it's sent.

This feature is rolling out for users around the world on the latest versions of iPhone, Android, Windows Phone as well as desktop. Both you and the message recipient must be using the latest version of WhatsApp for the message to be successfully deleted.

You can learn more in our FAQs for Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone.