WhatsApp has introduced Channels, a simple, reliable, and private way to receive important updates from people and organizations, right within WhatsApp. Channels will live 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.
Channels are a one-way broadcast tool for admins to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls. To help you select channels to follow, WhatsApp is building a searchable directory where you can find your hobbies, sports teams, updates from local officials, and more. You can also get to a channel from invite links sent in chats, e-mail, or posted online.
As a channel admin, your phone number and profile photo won’t be shown to followers. Likewise, following a channel won’t reveal your phone number to the admin or other followers. Who you decide to follow is your choice and it’s private.
Admins will be ale to decide who can follow their channel and whether they want their channel to be discoverable in the directory or not. WhatsApp said, that given the aim of Channels is to reach a wide audience, channels are not end-to-end encrypted by default.
Channels is kicking off in Colombia and Singapore, and will roll to more countries and the ability for anyone to create a channel over the coming months.
