The Meta-owned company announced that WhatsApp had launched a new feature called Channels, making it more similar to social media apps. It enables accounts to send one-way sends to subscribers in the form of “text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls,” similar to the functionality of the Twitter application. Accounts that broadcast can determine who can subscribe to their channel, whether they want it to be discoverable, and more. Moreover, “following a channel will not reveal your phone number to the channel’s administrator or other followers,” WhatsApp stated.
Users can discover channels in a new category called Updates on the program. This section displays your Status and the channels you choose to follow, distinct from conversations with family, friends, and group chats/communities. WhatsApp will eventually add payment services to monetize the feature for creators who intend to use it.
Privacy is also crucial, according to the company. The admin information of a channel is not shared, and it only retains 30 days of history. Additionally, administrators can prevent followers from taking screenshots or forwarding messages. WhatsApp has stated that it is considering implementing end-to-end encryption for non-profits, health organizations, and other privacy-sensitive organizations.
Channels is essentially a duplicate of a feature with the same name on the competing messaging app Telegram. Meta introduced Broadcast Channels on Instagram earlier this year, enabling creators to transmit updates to their followers’ inboxes, similar to what WhatsApp users will be able to do. The feature can be compared to a newsletter, and in fact, it may have been referred to as Newsletter while still in development (or a distinct newsletter feature may appear later).
WhatsApp has surpassed its intended purpose as a basic messaging program. Meta has recently added the ability to use a single account on multiple devices, which was previously impossible and a potential inconvenience when switching phones. In addition to updating group conversations, the company has added polls, purchasing, and other features.
According to the corporation, the new feature will initially be made available to “leading global organizations and select organizations in Columbia and Singapore.” It will be available to more countries and consumers “in the coming months.”
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