WhatsApp is now rolling out a safety overview before you join group chats from unknown users. It displays details such as the group creator, creation date, and member count—plus safety tips. This builds on last year’s context cards and reflects WhatsApp’s broader efforts to combat scams across its platforms.
Group Safety Overview Makes a Big Difference
WhatsApp now shows a screen before you enter a group if the inviter isn’t in your contacts.
- Creation date of the group
- Who added you
- Member count
- Warning messages and safety tips
Users can leave without seeing chats. Chats are muted until you confirm you want to stay. This adds a pause so you can think before joining potentially risky groups.
It’s a step up from context cards, which showed key info but allowed users to enter immediately. Now the interstitial screen forces a choice to exit or enter. That extra friction helps prevent scams before they start.
Context Cards and Other Safety Tools
WhatsApp already offered tools to limit scams:
- Context cards showing group metadata like creator and description
- Option to silence unknown callers
- Settings to limit who can add you to groups
These combine with the safety overview to provide users with multiple checkpoints before interacting with unknown contacts.
Now, users face an interstitial safety overview only for group invites from unknown contacts. Context cards still appear for all new groups as a secondary layer. This multi-layered strategy aims to reduce spam and fraudulent invitations.
WhatsApp Tackles Scam Networks at Scale
In the first half of 2025, Meta banned over 6.8 million WhatsApp accounts linked to organised scam centres across Southeast Asia. These operations utilised AI, ChatGPT, SMS, Telegram, and other platforms to lure victims into fake job offers, pyramid schemes, and cryptocurrency traps.
WhatsApp also tests alerts that show context when messaging someone not in your contacts. These prompts nudge users to pause, consider the source, and make safer choices before accepting or messaging.
Why This Matters for Users in the UAE
Scams often rely on trust and a sense of urgency. In the UAE, users might receive messages in Arabic or English claiming urgent offers or unpaid balances. These scams often start in group chats.
With the new overview and muted notifications:
- You learn who added you and why before entering
- Groups stay quiet until you confirm
- You can exit safely if it looks suspicious
This helps avoid schemes promising quick money, job offers, or investment opportunities—common tactics used in the region and beyond.
FAQs
When did this feature start rolling out?
WhatsApp announced the rollout on 5 August 2025, and users will see it with the latest app update.
How does this differ from context cards?
Context cards display group details when you join. The safety overview interrupts before you join, allowing you to exit without ever entering the chat.
Can this stop all scam attempts?
No feature is perfect. But combined with WhatsApp’s account bans and prompts about unknown contacts, it adds multiple checkpoints to reduce risk.
