Messaging app WhatsApp announced this Thursday that it will have a new “channels” service that will allow users to communicate publicly with more followers.
“We are excited to introduce WhatsApp Channels, a simple, secure and private way to get important news from people and organizations on our platform,” Meta (Facebook, Instagram) subsidiary said in an online press release.
This new feature will be first tested in Singapore and Colombia and then rolled out to other countries.
Users will be able to find the channels they are interested in in the News tab, separate from discussions with their contacts and groups.
Channel administrators will not be able to add subscribers, communicate by sending messages, photos, videos and polls.
According to Meta, partner organizations will include the World Health Organization (WHO) and football clubs FC Barcelona and Manchester United.
This new service should allow the California group to restart the messaging system in certain regions of the world (especially in Africa and Latin America).
The social media giant has had a tough 2022, including the first drop in ad revenue since going public in 2012.
Channels will enable brands to connect with consumers in new ways.
Regarding security and privacy, subscribers will not see the phone numbers of other people in the audience and their channel selection will be kept private. Posted content will expire after 30 days.
“Whatsapp channels will strive to be the most secure public messaging feature available and continue to provide the level of privacy that WhatsApp users have come to expect,” the company said in a statement.
However, “because the channels aim to reach a larger audience,” they won’t be encrypted by default like private conversations, he added.