If you've ever tried to create a WhatsApp group for work purposes, intended solely to get information out, you know that it soon descends into a cacophony of chatter. WhatsApp is addressing this problem by introducing a new group setting where only admins are able to send messages to a group, not the rest of the group members. This, the company notes, is aimed at, for example parents and teachers at schools, community centers, and non-profit organisations.

To enable this setting, open “Group Info,” tap Group Settings > Send Messages and select “Only Admins.” This setting is rolling out to all users around the world on the latest supported versions of the app.

WhatsApp seems to be constantly improving its group functionality, with previous group features featuring:

• 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 remove admin permissions of other group participants, and group creators can no longer be removed from the group they started.
• There's also protection provided so users can't be repeatedly added to groups they've left.

As great as a group chat on WhatsApp can be, it’s equally annoying when the back-and-forth gets out of hand. Hopefully this new feature brings some much needed control to groups, especially for work purposes.