If you live in the UK and own a smartphone, chances are you belong to several WhatsApp groups. Whether you are on iPhone or Android, the multi-platform chat app is one of the most commonly used places to converse over text, photo, video and voice note with several people in one chat.

From old school friends to parents’ groups to work chats, there’s a WhatsApp group for everything these days. But it’s hard to know what everyone is talking about if you get added to the group mid-conversation, or if you’re being added to a group that has been around for some time.

To get around this modern mishap, WhatsApp is introducing a new feature called Group Message History. When you add someone new to a WhatsApp group, you’ll be given the option to send the last 25, 50, 75 or 100 messages to that new entrant so they can catch up on the most recent conversation and know what everyone has been talking about.

“We’re excited to introduce Group Message History, a feature that makes group chats even more welcoming without interruption,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.

“Now, group admins and members can choose to send recent messages to new members, so they can catch up quickly.”

The Meta-owned firm said this new tool is rolling out gradually worldwide and is one of the most requested features from WhatsApp users.

“Group Message History remains end-to-end encrypted like all other personal messages, giving you a quicker, more private way to keep conversations flowing, with no more screenshots, and no more unnecessary message forwarding,” WhatsApp said, adding that it ensures “new members only need to read the most relevant, recent context, and the whole group can easily see the messages that have been shared.”

If you add someone to a group, you will have to send them a message history if the feature is turned on, though group admins will also have the option to disable the setting for a group chat. Those admins will always be able to share message history, even if non-admins in the group are blocked from doing so by a settings change.

“For transparency, when message history is sent, everyone in the group is notified, with clear timestamps and sender information, and message history is visually distinct from regular messages,” WhatsApp confirmed.

Check your WhatsApp app today to see if you have the new feature. If not, head to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for WhatsApp, and see if it is due an update. If you still don’t get the tool, keep an eye out for it over the coming weeks.