After releasing the ability to create and follow channels in 9 countries, Mark Zuckerberg just announced that WhatsApp is finally rolling out this feature worldwide for those users who have installed the latest version of WhatsApp for iOS, Android, and Desktop!
| Common questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| Name of the feature? | Channels |
| Status? | Rolling out |
| Compatibility? | Latest versions of the app from the Google Play Store, TestFlight, and App Store, are marked as compatible updates. |
| I’ve installed this update but I don’t have this feature. Why? | This feature is available to some users, and it’s rolling out to more accounts over the coming weeks. |
| Previous news? | WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.19.10: what’s new? WhatsApp is rolling out a feature to swipe between tabs again! |
| WABetaInfo Channel on WhatsApp: | Invite link |
CHANNELS
In the past few months, WhatsApp released the ability to create and follow channels in Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, Singapore, and Ukraine. Testing this feature in a limited number of countries allowed WhatsApp to gather valuable feedback and identify issues, bugs, and user experience concerns that may not have been apparent during internal testing. Thanks to a recent message shared by Mark Zuckerberg through his official Meta broadcast channel on Instagram, we discovered that a global launch for WhatsApp Channels is finally happening, starting today!
As you can see in this screenshot, the ability to follow channels has finally been announced through the official Meta broadcast channel by Mark Zuckerberg. Specifically, WhatsApp is rolling out channels starting today, but it’s worth noting that it will still take a few weeks for all WhatsApp accounts to be enabled to receive this feature. Mark Zuckerberg also announced his own channel on WhatsApp, where he will share insights, updates, and news related to the future of the platform.
With channels, WhatsApp enables users to get updates from the people and organizations they care more about. Channels are available within the “Status” tab, which has been renamed to “Updates”. In this section, users can follow new channels among those recommended by WhatsApp or simply by exploring the list of all available verified channels. Following a channel is always private, so your phone number is always hidden and other followers cannot see you following the channel, but channel admins can see that you follow their channel in case they’re in your contacts list.
Thanks to the blog post published by WhatsApp, we have also learned that WhatsApp is introducing several improvements to channels for all users:
- Enhanced Directory: users can now explore new channels by using advanced filters.
- Reactions: users can react to channel updates to express their opinions regarding the content shared within channels.
- Message forwarding feature: forwarded messages now include a link back to the channel, making it easier for users to join it.
- Delete update for everyone: channel creators now have the ability to delete a message for everyone within 30 days.
The ability to follow channels is finally rolling out to more users who have installed the latest updates of WhatsApp for iOS from the App Store and WhatsApp for Android from the Google Play Store, and it will be released to even more people over the coming weeks.
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