How to disable unread group notifications in Whatsapp?

Question

The "mute" option allows you to stop receiving notifications. However, I can still see the number of unread messages for a group that has been previously muted.

In addition, this group keeps coming at the top of the list of groups every time a new message is sent to it.

Is there a way to disable this without having to leave a group?

It is now possible if your device is rooted, check out ShutApp below. — Elad Nava, Jul 13 '16 at 13:35
@EladNava I have a rooted device. Its not working. I have Lineage OS 14.1 based on Android 7.1.1. — MrObjectOriented, Feb 13 '17 at 11:54
This issue has been bugging me for ages. It is very disappointing that the whatsapp team refuses to address it. — Alon, Jan 21 '20 at 07:46

score 13 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 18 '15 at 12:03

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This issue has been plaguing Whatsapp since its inception. I have had long email conversations with their support team on multiple occasions. Even uploaded a detailed video explaining the bug:
Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bldIuA-OjU
This was their reply after about about 20 emails explaining the issue.

I gave up after that. To anyone reading this, please see the video to understand the problem. If someone influential can publicise it, maybe the will fix it then.

answered Aug 18 '15 at 12:03

Gh0sT

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The developers left this annoyance open deliberately to keep users returning to Whatsapp, disabling it would reduce the user traffic dramatically (More active users = more $). Hopefully enough people will demand for a fix or someone will be able to make a workaround externally. – Gabriel Meono Aug 18 '15 at 14:29
I developed an external workaround, see the ShutApp answer below. – Elad Nava Jul 13 '16 at 13:37

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 13 '16 at 13:33

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ShutApp

ShutApp is an Android app I developed for rooted devices that will automatically mark your muted WhatsApp chats as read and prevent them from jumping to the top of the chat list, so that you don't have to leave those annoying groups.

You do need a rooted android device to use the app, though. That's because the app needs to be able to modify WhatsApp's internal database which is not accessible to other apps without granting root access.

ShutApp is completely free and open source, and if your phone isn't rooted yet, I think it's definitely worth rooting in order to use this app!

https://github.com/eladnava/shutapp-android

answered Jul 13 '16 at 13:33

Elad Nava

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How to download? – MrObjectOriented Feb 12 '17 at 14:29
Check out usage docs: https://github.com/eladnava/shutapp-android#usage – Elad Nava Feb 12 '17 at 19:54
App not working for me (Lineage OS 14.1). – MrObjectOriented Feb 13 '17 at 03:56
You need a rooted device. It does work on Android 6.0+. – Elad Nava Feb 13 '17 at 08:55
I have a rooted device. Its not working. I have Lineage OS 14.1 based on Android 7.1.1. – MrObjectOriented Feb 13 '17 at 11:52
Open an issue in the project page: https://github.com/eladnava/shutapp-android/issues – Elad Nava Feb 13 '17 at 12:11
I have opened an issue now. – MrObjectOriented Feb 16 '17 at 05:12
It doesn't work on Rooted Moto G1 Nougat, I installed your App directly on the phone (without the USB commands), checked all permissions and messages keep pilling up on the top. Are you still updating it? – Gabriel Meono Apr 14 '17 at 19:19
Open an issue in the project page: github.com/eladnava/shutapp-android/issues – Elad Nava Apr 15 '17 at 04:20

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 12 '15 at 11:52

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You can mute a group for a specified period of time. You will still receive the messages sent to the group, but your phone will not vibrate or make noise you when they are received. To mute a group:

Go to the group in WhatsApp. Tap Menu Button > Mute Group. Select how long you would like notifications to be muted. Optionally, uncheck Show notifications to stop notifications from being shown in your notification slider.

From whatsapp.com Your group will go on top because it has the newest message. That's how it works.

answered Aug 12 '15 at 11:52

sharp

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But should you SEE those messages in the notification shade once you receive a new message?? I guess not. That's unexpected behaviour. – Gh0sT Aug 18 '15 at 12:08
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The inquiry is about a disabling muted group notifications. Posting how to "mute" and reaffirming what was previously stated is hardly an answer. – Gabriel Meono Aug 19 '15 at 02:38

How to disable unread group notifications in Whatsapp?

3 Answers3

ShutApp