The new major feature that Whatsapp has just launched in some regions and will soon launch globally is called “Communities,” and its function is very similar to that of real-world communities. Communities, provide larger, better-organized discussion groups that have been in development for roughly a year and are now finally available to the public. The purpose of introducing Communities to the messaging platform is to improve communication and group work among private organizations like schools, clubs, and businesses.
Administrator controls, support for sub-groups and announcement groups, 32-person voice and video calls, larger file sharing, emoji reactions, and polls are among the new features that Communities will offer. Because larger groups could not be created on Whatsapp, businesses and institutions opted for Slack or Discord instead. Now that the larger group option is available, Slack and Discord will undoubtedly see a decrease in traffic.
What exactly are WhatsApp Communities and how do they function?
Multiple group chats can be organized using Whatsapp Communities, allowing participants to easily switch between topics while each group stays focused on a single topic. You could, for instance, create a Community for your neighborhood and then divide the discussion into individual groups, with one group devoted to group activities, another to organizing chores, and so on. Additionally, there is an Announcement group in each Community for moderators to share significant news.
Administrators have the ability to post updates in a WhatsApp Community, where communications are encrypted from beginning to end. Communities were tested for the first time by the company in April, and they are now available to everyone. Among the features designed for Communities that have already been integrated into the WhatsApp platform prior to today’s launch are emoji reactions, massive file sharing (up to 2 GB), and the capability for administrators to delete messages. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, stated about this new update;
There may initially be some similarities between the two because the new feature and Facebook Groups both enable features like sub-groups, file sharing, admin functionality, and more. Contrary to Facebook Groups, WhatsApp Communities are made for people who may already be connected in the real world. Members of these discussion groups may have swapped phone numbers or, at the very least, provided their numbers to the group administrator, as WhatsApp is based on phone numbers rather than Facebook.
Members of the same sub-groups as you as well as administrators won’t be able to see the phone numbers; they will not be seen by the community.
This aims to find a middle ground between the need to allow group members to communicate and users’ demands for privacy. For instance, even if you don’t personally know every parent on your child’s sports team, you probably feel comfortable talking to them in a small group that may be a part of the larger school community.
In contrast to Facebook Groups, which can be found on the site, WhatsApp Communities are hidden. To join, you must be asked; There won’t be a way to search or find something.
The release of Communities could put pressure on other apps like Telegram and Signal, which have become popular for private and large-scale group communications. It could also put pressure on established messaging services like iMessage and apps like GroupMe, Band, TalkingPoints, and Remind, which are made for businesses or educational institutions.
Whatsapp Will Let You Make “Communities” with 1,024 peoples