WhatsApp Channels is designed to allow users to follow individuals and organizations based on their interests and to facilitate private reception of updates from those being followed.
WhatsApp’s latest Channels feature is now available for all users in India. Channels is designed to allow users to follow individuals and organizations based on their interests and to facilitate private reception of updates from those being followed.
Channels serve as a one-way broadcast tool, permitting administrators to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls. WhatsApp has also developed a searchable directory to help users find Channels aligned with their hobbies and interests.Invitations to Channels can be sent via chats and emails.
A WhatsApp channel can be used to share updates and information to an unlimited audience.
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has launched its new feature ‘Channels’, a one-way platform for sharing updates with the followers. This comes more than a year after the company had rolled out the Communities feature.
A WhatsApp channel can be used to share updates and information to an unlimited audience. The information can be shared through text, images, videos, stickers and links.
Channels are found in a new tab called Updates – where you’ll find Status and channels you choose to follow – separate from your chats with family, friends, and communities.
How to create a WhatsApp channel?
To create a WhatsApp channel on your phone, follow these steps.
Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to the Updates tab.
Step 2: Select ‘New Channel’. Tap on ‘Get Started’ and continue through the on-screen prompts.
Step 3: Now, add a channel name to create your channel. Remember, you can change the name at any point of time.
Step 4: You can add a description and icon or do it later.
Step 5: Add an image from your phone or the web to create an icon. Tap on ‘Create Channel’.
WhatsApp channels are a one-way broadcast tool and provide a private way to receive updates from people and organizations that matter to users.
WhatsApp has rolled out its long-awaited feature, WhatsApp Channels, in India and across more than 150 countries, marking an innovative development in the services provided by the messaging platform.
According to its parent company, Meta Platforms, WhatsApp Channels in India will deliver a private way for people to receive updates that matter to them. Channels are a one-way broadcast tool for admins to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls. Channels can be found in a new tab called Updates on WhatsApp, where you’ll find status and channels you choose to follow, separate from your chats with family, friends, and communities.
The move comes as Meta makes a push to shore up engagement across its social media apps, positioning them as central destinations where content creators can engage with followers.
The wider rollout is happening months after WhatsApp Channels was launched in Colombia and Singapore in June. The Broadcast Channels feature on Instagram was simultaneously made available globally.
On WhatsApp, channels are separate from chats, and followers are not visible to each other.
WhatsApp is working on a feature that could improve the experience of a user joining an existing group on the popular messaging app. A feature tracker has shared details of a new WhatsApp setting that will show up to 24 hours of messages from the group, before a member was added to the chat. The feature can only be enabled by group administrators (or admins) and will help provide context about recent messages to newly added members. Meanwhile, Meta’s CEO has announced a new feature that will eliminate the hassle of naming new groups on WhatsApp.
According to WABetaInfo, a WhatsApp feature tracker, the Meta-owned messaging service is currently working on a feature titled “Recent History Sharing”. Spotted on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.18.5, the feature will display chats sent to the group by existing members, up to 24 hours before a user joins the group.
It is worth noting that this feature is still in development, which means that beta testers can’t try it out on the latest testing version of WhatsApp — and there’s no word on when it could eventually roll out to all users. The popular messaging platform is currently rolling out the recently announced Channels feature that allows users to see up to 30 days of previous messages when they join a new channel. Unlike a channel, the recent history sharing functionality for groups offers a shorter window of 24 hours.
As previously mentioned, the setting can only be enabled by a group admin, and WABetaInfo says that existing members will see a message informing them that the feature has been turned on. An image shared by the feature tracker shows a smaller message in the chat — presumably displayed using reverse engineering — that confirms recent history sharing has been turned on for new participants.
WhatsApp Caption Editing: WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out the functionality to edit captions sent with GIFs, images, videos, documents etc in chats. In the screengrab shared by WABetaInfo, the edit option is present below the copy button in the list on iPhones. On Android, the interface is similar to the message edit option. In another set of updates, the company is rolling out a new UI within app settings on iOS in the beta channel.
WhatsApp recently announced a message editing feature that allows users to edit chats in the first 15 minutes after sending them. It seems the company is now rolling out the same functionality for captions sent with GIFs, images, videos, documents etc. According to WABetaInfo, the functionality is now rolling out on Android and iOS.
As per the report, the WhatsApp for iOS 23.16.72 version’s changelog stated that the option to edit media captions was rolling out. In the latest update on Google Play, the news outlet discovered the feature was “widely rolling” out for users on Android too.
In the screengrab shared by the platform, the edit option is present below the copy button in the list on iPhones. On Android, the interface is similar to the message edit option. A WhatsApp user can tap and hold a message with captions to check if the feature is available on their device. Earlier, this functionality was limited to text messages. The duration to edit media messages remains the same as earlier – 15 minutes after sending the message.
Musk’s X Removes Pictures, Links Posted Before December 2014; Yet Another Cost Cutting Move Or A Technical Glitch?
This would let users alter the text in case of corrections and improve the texting experience on the app. Plus, the context of media material can be explained effectively with the new feature. It is advisable that users install the latest version of the app from their respective official app stores to check whether the support is rolling out on their devices.
WhatsApp is flipping a switch that will let users send higher-quality “HD” images on the messaging platform. “Sharing photos on WhatsApp just got an upgrade,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced via his Meta broadcast channel on Instagram. “Now you can send in HD.”
The feature is rolling out worldwide over the next few weeks, so users with the feature can send higher-quality and higher-resolution images (likely still compressed from the original) from Android, iOS, or the web, and recipients on any platform will see a small icon that indicates it as such. According to Meta, support for HD videos is coming soon after.
Once users get the new feature, they’ll see an “HD” gear icon when adding an image to a message thread, as first seen in beta versions shared in screenshots by WABetaInfo. The publication noted that the feature first came to beta testers on version 23.11.0.76 for iOS and version 2.23.12.13 for Android.
In the example shown by WABetaInfo, the “photo quality” menu appears after tapping the HD icon. It gives two resolution options: standard quality (1600 x 1052) and HD quality (4096 x 2692). Meta hasn’t mentioned specifics about how compressed the images will be overall and how they will look when compared to sending images over Apple’s iMessage or any other competing platform. The higher-quality images will fall under the same WhatsApp end-to-end encryption defaults, too.
WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new feature that allows users to add multiple accounts to the app on Android. The feature is currently accessible to a limited number of beta testers.
Meta-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a new feature to its Android beta testers. As reported by WaBetaInfo, the feature allows WhatsApp users to add multiple accounts to the popular messaging app.
At present, individuals who want to include a second account on their smartphone resort to installing a cloned version of WhatsApp. The workaround, however, works on certain Android devices. The recently added multi-account feature in the latest beta version offers an account switcher that facilitates transitioning between the primary account associated with the smartphone and other WhatsApp accounts.
As indicated by the report, the multi-account feature is currently accessible to a limited number of beta testers who have updated to WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.23.17.8. It is anticipated to become available to a broader user base over the coming weeks.
When enabled, WhatsApp will present a small downward-pointing arrow icon adjacent to the QR code in the settings menu. Thereafter a card will emerge, showcasing the primary account, along with an “Add account” button. Tapping this button will enable users to incorporate an account registered on another device, and recent messages will synchronize with their phone.
The report also shares a screenshot of the feature showing the popup card, which also serves as an account switcher, will display the phone number linked to the respective WhatsApp account. This functionality will empower users to distinguish between accounts effortlessly, alongside the profile photo and username. The feature had previously been observed in development back in June.
After testing the Screen Share in beta for almost a couple of months, WhatsApp finally rolled it out to all users across the globe. The feature, as the name implies, lets you share your phone’s and PC’s screen with others during a video call. But, not everything can be shared and WhatsApp also has some security measures in place. That said, here are 10 things you can and can’t do with WhatsApp’s new Screen Share feature.
Can do: Share phone or PC screen with others
WhatsApp new Screen Share feature allows users to share their phone or PC screen with other users during an ongoing video call. This also means that the Screen Share only works when a video call has been established.
Can do: Share screen in both individual and group chats
As mentioned, Screen Share in Whatsapp only works during ongoing video calls. It is available for both individual and group chats.
Can do: Preview documents, files, web pages and more
Screen Share allows users to preview documents, files, web pages, videos, photos and other things from their phone or PC to others.
Can do: Offers privacy screen for banking apps and services
WhatsApp has added a privacy screen for banking apps and services as well as some sensitive things. As a part of this, WhatsApp automatically blacks out the screen when entering a password or while sending money using UPI or banking apps.
WhatsApp Channels let users broadcast a single broadcast message to many users at once.
WhatsApp Channels is one of the most anticipated features currently under development by the platform. WABetaInfo has spotted the feature in the latest WhatsApp beta update version number 2.23.8.75 for iOS users. The feature has already been rolled out to Android beta users back in February 2023. According to the screenshots shared by the publication, the new feature will get its own section under a brand-new Updates tab, which will house both channels and status updates. Here’s what you need to know about WhatsApp Channels.
WhatsApp is rolling out its latest iOS beta update version number 2.23.8.75 to users. Apart from the bug fixes and improvements, the latest update also brings the WhatsApp Channels feature, which has already been rolled out to Android beta users back in February 2023. The feature should come to the stable WhatsApp for iOS users in a future update.
According to the screenshot (shown above) shared by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp will rename the Status tab to Updates in a future app update. This Updates tab will house both WhatsApp stories from users’ contacts and also channel updates from WhatsApp Channels they sign up for. According to WABetaInfo, Channels is an optional extension of normal WhatsApp messaging and users can control which channels they want to subscribe to. Other users will not be able to see which channels they are subscribed to.
Moreover, since WhatsApp Channels don’t extend to the public social network, WhatsApp users will not be auto-subscribed to random channels and see unwanted content under their Updates tab. WhatsApp users can simply search for their favourite channels and subscribe to them. WhatsApp will introduce handles or usernames for WhatsApp channels, making it easier for users to find and see preferred content in the Updates tab. As you can see in the screenshot as well, there will also be a Find Channels button in the updates tab to help users find their preferred content.