Am I the only person who finds family WhatsApp groups annoying?

Of course, it's totally up to you. But personally, I think WhatsApp has become a bit like email - you just can't NOT have it and if you don't have it, you have to accept you will miss information. Ditch as many groups as you like but with the exception of people I'm very close to, I'm not going to go and find a new way to communicate with them when I'm sitting on WhatsApp and email all day and so are 99% of the people I engage with.

I muted all my group chats that I find annoying and then I went one step further and deleted the app. I asked a couple of close friends to contacting if they ok to use text or messenger and left it at that. It’s a good feeling.

Aw this sounds so nice!

@TiredButDancing yes do it! I just kept it muted and stayed out but now I'm expected to occasionally respond / show an interest. They don't know I know there's another group. It's all rather tiresome. Shame you can't pick your in laws, hey.

Get a backbone and leave. Christ I have my own family group I don’t have in laws in it that’s his domain.

I am seriously considering this for DH's family. ex BIL is not only STILL in the chat, he feels the need to comment on EVERYTHING. it's extremely annoying but as he's a controlling, abusive dickhead, if we remove him, it will blow back on poor SIL and their DC. So we can't. A secret new group is tempting!!!

Exactly this!

My husband isn't in the one for my family, nor are any of our spouses.

I've muted my ILs group. It's a bit ridiculous because we briefly split up and they set up another one, rather than kick me out (gateway to the grandchild 😂), but they post in both. I wish they would stick to the new one!

This is why multiple groups is a better option. So one group is the big one, and it's for photos and overall family news. Then the groups get progressively smaller as they get more into the detail.

So, for example, I have:

Overall my family (including random in laws, a few aunts/cousins etc).
Overall DH family (as above)
My dad and sister - this tends to be lots of admin type stuff and family stuff that somehow the boys are bad at (although I suspect my dad also has a dad and my brothers group)
Me and all my siblings
Me, DH, Sister and BIL who live near each other and often have logistics to sort out re childcare etc.
Me, DH, SIL for same reason.
Our house - me, DH, DS

My only slight peeve with our family one is the lack of interest from my parents now that a new grandchild has arrived. I know my teens aren't as cute (that's an understatement) but acknowledging if I say something about them would be nice. I've muted it currently, he's a very cute baby but it's a bit annoying that they can't show interest for all of their grandchildren..

The asking daughter to come down the stairs would drive me nuts though OP! Why don't they have another group for those in their house!

Hilarious, I don't have one but my cousin has one of her husbands side of the family and is always sending me screenshots 😆

Haha! And start WW3?

so? just leave the group - if you like you can leave a last message with "soz, busy, I'll leave you lot to it" or something?

What do you value more, not having to see all the messages or being free of it? Or mute it. And tell your DH that if the ILs want more photos (do you send lots to your family?) he can provide them?

Agree! DH's family has one and I'm on it. One BIL/SIL, FIL and we use it in the same way - to share very occasional, hopefully genuinely interesting news. The other BIL/SIL and MIL use it to update the rest of us on every aspect of their lives and have massive love ins with each other. I hang around though because I really like getting the updates from the former BIL/SIL and FIL, and because DH and I can have a good chuckle about yet another yoga pose in front of a sunset/picture of my breakfast type snap from the other lot.

Depends on your family, I suppose. We set one up for the "girls" in the family (my mum, SIL, me, my daughter and my niece) to help with my niece's self-esteem issues when she was having a bad time with schoolfriends. She adores my daughter (25 years), who is ten years older than her, but we don't live close, so it was a good way for them to be in contact with each other, without making the underlying reason obvious. On the back of that a "boys" group was set up. Banter mainly revolves around football, but it has brought to the fore a lovely relationship between my grown up sons, their cousin and their uncle, who is a wind up merchant and fancies himself as a bit of a comedian. There's the odd picture of food, such as the beetroot curry I once made. As I said, all depends on your family.

We don't have any family WhatsApp groups. DH's family are Luddites and DD doesn't use WhatsApp.

Seriously, what's the worst that can happen if you leave it?
Or just mute it. I mute my busy WhatsApp groups and catch up in my own time. It isn't difficult.

I just left the family WhatsApp group. You should do the same

Not just you:

Oh god OP I totally sympathise. I don't have this with in laws but I find whattsapp groups irritating in general.

Like when someone posts something they want reactions to, like "look at my little one doing this!" And everyone responds 😂 or 🥰 and "so cute!" - I find it all so fake!!

I think different people have different ideas on what the family group is for. Our extended family live in different towns so we don't get to see each other often
We all have children the same age, so thought it would be nice to chat about what the kids were up to, exams, uni etc
Unfortunately, one family member thinks the group is all about him. Where he is today, what he's eating, pictures of random friends we will never meet.... Now no one bothers posting much and I have an idea everyone has the group on mute except him!

Hate mine. It just gives my alpha male, ego centric brother a forum for showboating, with a captive audience.

My DH's family have one , yep it's annoying !

Yeah just mute it, I have all my group chats muted other than the one with my best friends. You don't need the constant notifications, just look at it once or twice a day in your own time.

I have a group chat with my in laws, they're a large family so it's a big group which includes the adult nieces and nephews. It doesn't annoy me but I've had it on mute since day one, I assume most of the other members do the same.

Why can't your DH send pictures? Why is it on you?

Sounds too much, just mute it if you want to limit any fallout, or tell you DH to nip it in the bud, ie: do we really need to know about what your eating? Surely you can message sister privately so we don't all have to see the messages, that's sort of thing.
Taking yourself out of the group is rude and could cause issues for you.

I have the exact same set up with ILs. DH asked them to add me to the chat and I could hardly refuse. They're not as chatty as your lot but I mute it.

Family chat with ILs is never going to be that interesting