Control Your Privacy Series. How to Block Spammy Group Invites and Silence Unwanted Calls on WhatsApp

Are you tired of being added to random WhatsApp groups without your permission? Spammy group invites can be a hassle, but there's an easy way to prevent them by adjusting your WhatsApp settings.

Also, if you've been receiving calls from unknown numbers, often at odd times and from other countries, WhatsApp has a feature to help. You can now automatically silence all calls from numbers that aren't in your contacts. These calls won't disturb you, but you'll still see a notification and the call will be logged in your history.

How to Manage WhatsApp Group Invitations

The instructions below are for WhatsApp on iOS, but Android users can follow similar steps with slight differences.

1. Open WhatsApp and head to Settings. On Android, you'll find this under the three vertical dots in the top right corner.
2. In the Settings menu, select Privacy.
3. Tap Groups to access the settings for who can add you to a group.
4. By default, this is set to "Everyone," meaning anyone who has your number can add you to a group. You have three other options to limit this:

• My Contacts: Only people saved in your contacts can add you to groups. Others will need to send a private invitation for you to accept or decline within 72 hours.

• My Contacts Except: You can choose this option to exclude specific contacts from adding you to groups.

• Nobody: This gives you the most control. You'll have to approve all group invitations before being added. For Android users (and some iOS users), if this option isn't available, you can choose "My Contacts Except" and select all contacts to block group invites entirely.

Once set, you'll still receive group invites via direct messages, but now you'll have the power to decide whether or not to join. These invites expire after 72 hours if you don't accept them.

Note: Group privacy settings can only be updated from the mobile app. However, once adjusted, these settings will apply to both WhatsApp Web and Desktop.

How to Silence Spam Calls on WhatsApp

1. Make sure your WhatsApp app is up to date.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy > Calls.
3. Turn on the option to Silence unknown callers.

Related: Control your privacy: Use 'Secret Codes' to make your conversations more private on WhatsApp.

More Tips for Avoiding Unwanted Groups on WhatsApp

While WhatsApp makes it easy to connect, a few simple precautions can help you avoid spam:

1. Don't share your phone number online. Spammers can easily collect numbers from public profiles on social media.
2. Avoid clicking on suspicious links or messages from unknown senders.
3. Be cautious of messages with urgent requests, especially from unknown contacts.

Related: How scammers gain access and hack your WhatsApp account and what you can do to protect yourself.

4.      If you're added to a spam group by mistake, you can leave it and report it. Simply go to the group info, select Report Group, then Exit Group.

1. Use WhatsApp's Privacy Checkup feature to review and adjust your privacy settings.

Related: The 7 most common WhatsApp scams and how to avoid them.

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