WhatsApp will now let you create small groups without first naming them. Mark Zuckerberg announced the new feature in a Facebook post (via TechCrunch). You previously had to choose your group’s name when setting it up.
TechCrunch reports that unnamed groups have a cap of six members instead of the named groups’ limit of 1,024 participants. In addition, WhatsApp will reportedly auto-generate placeholder names for unnamed groups based on their members. (For example, “Rocco & Li-Chen” for a chat between them in Zuckerberg’s sample image below.) Depending on how they’ve saved members’ contacts, the group name will also appear differently for each member.
When joining an unnamed group that includes people who haven’t saved your contacts, it will reportedly display your phone number to the group. This suggests the feature is designed more for established friends, family or colleagues and less for strangers.
TechCrunch reports that the feature will roll out globally “over the next few weeks.”