The Facebook-owned messenger seems to be testing an “Always Muted” option for chats, WABetaInfo has noticed. The feature is still in development, but it will likely replace the “1 year” option which WhatsApp currently gives to users. At present, WhatsApp lets users mute chats for eight hours, a week, or a year. Unfortunately, those options leave a gap for certain chats where you need to be, but don’t necessarily have to follow the full discussion. Credit: WABetaInfo I’ve got one of these too. The building where I reside has its own WhatsApp group, where people love to complain about every little noise disturbance — from music someone deems too loud to the annoying sound of folding carton (yes, my neighbors are that type of people). That’s why lots of people — myself included — have been using the one year option to mute chats. It’s simply the easiest way to stop notifications from conversations you’re only marginally interested in. Of course, you will have to repeat the exercise each year. The new “Always” option simply removes that step altogether. Look, it’s not a massive change by any means, but it’s certainly one many users will appreciate. That said, it would be great if WhatsApp gave us the option to pick the mute duration ourselves, but hey: I’ll take “Always” over “1 year” any day. In addition to an “Always Muted” button, the company is still working on letting people use the same number across multiple devices, and there are rumors that “expiring messages,” which will automatically disappear after a certain amount of time, might also make their way to the main build in the near future. via XDA-Developers
