Don't you just hate it when WhatsApp insists on altering you to new messages from chats you've muted? Well now the Facebook-owned company is putting a stop to it.

Although muted chats did not receive push notifications to notify users of a new message, those incoming messages were still represented by badge icons, until today.

An update pushed out for WhatsApp on iOS over the weekend ensures notifications will no longer be displayed as badged on the app's icon, which in many ways defied the purpose of muting the chat in the first place.

In the release notes for Version 2.19.110, WhatsApp says: "Muted chats will no longer display notification based on the app icon when you receive new messages."

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The change was first spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren who tongue in cheek referred to it as the "best change to WhatsApp ever."

Elsewhere in the update, WhatsApp says new alignment guidelines help users better position stickers, emojis and more when editing media.

On the Android side of things, the company is rolling out a new feature that will stop users being added to group chats without their consent.

WABetaInfo reports the change that enables users to select whether Everyone, Contacts Only or Contacts Except can initiate your presence in a group messaging thread.

The change was initially announced by WhatsApp back in April, so the rollout as part of version 2.19.298 has been a long time coming.

    Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He's based in South Florida, USA. …
    Chris Smith