A WhatsApp Channels feature is available in Singapore and Columbia and will expand to several countries, including Indonesia, in the coming months.
Heaptalk, Jakarta — Meta launches a new feature on the WhatsApp messaging service, WhatsApp Channels, in Singapore and Columbia (06/08). This latest feature allows users to send verified news and information to the public.
This giant social networking company’s new feature is similar to a private broadcast service, in which people and organizations can send messages and the latest updates to followers, separate from the interpersonal communications between WhatsApp users.
“We are announcing WhatsApp Channels as a private way to follow people and organizations that matter to you, right within WhatsApp. We are starting in Singapore and Columbia but will roll out to everyone later this year. We are building the Channels feature as the most private communication method. As a channel admin, your phone number will not be shown to followers, and following a channel will not show that to the admin or others following the Channel either,” Mark Zuckerberg said.
Following Columbia country, Singapore is the second country to get the WhatsApp Channels feature. From now on, this technology company will release the availability of the Channel feature to a broader set of countries, including Indonesia, With the ultimate goal of granting users the capability to establish a Channel of their own.
The channel feature on Whatsapp is a one-way broadcast feature that allows admins to share text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls. To back users selecting channels to be followed, Meta also provides a searchable directory whereby users can find their channel preferences, such as hobbies, sports teams, and updates from local officials. Besides, users also can subscribe to the channels through an invite and search within WhatsApp.
Users who are registered as admins will get additional control. Meta allows admins to control which users can join the Channel via the Approve New Followers feature. On the other hand, Meta also appends another control feature to block screenshots on WhatsApp Channels and prohibit participants from forwarding messages on the Channel to different chat rooms. Therefore, Meta‘s CEO emphasized the overall Channel’s interactions are only stored for 30 days.
The Mark Zuckerberg-led company has removed end-to-end encryption system protection to expand users’ scope on the app and is expected to unlock various possibilities on the feature. The company is also considering this as a money-making avenue, one of which is exploring inducing payment services for businesses in the WhatsApp Channel, along with the ability to promote them in the directory.
“There is an opportunity to support admins with a way for them to create a business around their channel using our expanding payment in the directory to help increase awareness,” The company said in the official blog post.
