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Yuan Plans to roll out a new broadcasting feature called Channels for its WhatsApp messaging service.
The social networking giant said on Thursday that the new channels would function like a “private broadcasting service” where people and organizations could send messages and updates to followers, unlike the variety of human-to-human communication that happens between WhatsApp users.
Admins who oversee WhatsApp channels will be able to send texts, photos, videos, stickers and polls to their followers, who will not be able to reply to messages. Channel admins will not be allowed to add followers to their channels, which will store messages for 30 days before deleting them.
Unlike more traditional WhatsApp messages, channels won’t use end-to-end encryption so they can “reach a broad audience,” WhatsApp said in a blog post. End-to-end encrypted channels could eventually debut in the future for groups such as nonprofits or health organizations that want their communications to be more secure, WhatsApp added.
WhatsApp users will finally be able to find channels they want to join in a searchable directory. They’ll be able to access the channels they follow through a new “Updates” tab. WhatsApp says the tab will be “separate from your chats with family, friends and the community”.
WhatsApp said it was working with various organizations, including the Singapore Heart Foundation and the Colombia Check nonprofit, as part of its plans to roll out Channels in Colombia and Singapore ahead of a wider rollout in other countries later this year.
WhatsApp plans to eventually let anyone create a WhatsApp channel, in addition to its current launch partners, which include the International Rescue Committee and the World Health Organization.
Meta, then known as Facebook, bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that WhatsApp will be the “next chapter” for the social networking company, which represents an opportunity for Meta to build a profitable business similar to Instagram and Facebook’s core apps. illustration business.
Although Meta generates a large portion of its billions of dollars in annual sales from online advertising, it has so far avoided adding ads to WhatsApp like Facebook and Instagram. Instead, Meta has been pushing the business messaging feature as a way to monetize WhatsApp, hoping to give the company a more engaging way to engage with users.
In fact, Meta said in a blog post that the company sees “an opportunity to support admins in building a business around their channels using our expanding payment services, and the ability to promote certain channels in the directory helps drive awareness.”
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