WhatsApp Channels: Follow Your Favorite Topics Privately

Users can later follow the latest updates on various things of interest

Everyone certainly has their own hobbies and passions in cyberspace. WhatsApp seems to want to facilitate its users to be able to continue to be connected with update the latest regarding their favorite things.

This is realized by Meta through a new feature called WhatsApp Channels (Channel). In its description, the Channels feature is a simple, reliable, and private way to receive updates on things right within WhatsApp.

Later, there will be tab Channel specific which is referred to as Update. There users will find statuses and channels that can be selected and followed. Uniquely, this column will be separate from the main WhatsApp chat.

Each channel is a one-way channel managed by an admin. These admins can send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polling for his followers. Admins can also later share invitations to follow their own channel.

WhatsApp has prepared several official channels that can be followed. These official channels have been divided into several directories such as hobbies, sports teams, updates, local authorities and many others.

WhatsApp’s vision for this feature is to build a broadcast service that is the most private, so that the personal information of admins and also those who follow the channel will not be displayed.

As a channel admin, your phone number and profile photo will not be shown to followers. Vice versa, your phone number will also not be disclosed to admins and other followers in the channel.

Anticipating storage space that could expand, WhatsApp confirmed that they will only store channel history on servers for up to 30 days. Users will even get a way to get rid of updates more quickly.

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Introducing your new favorite way to stay in the loop ➰

Channels on WhatsApp lets you privately follow the topics you care about.

Available now in Colombia 🇨🇴 and Singapore 🇸🇬 Coming soon 🌎 pic.twitter.com/iYgK9FA6Eu

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 8, 2023

Lastly, WhatsApp also gives admins the ability to decide who can follow their channel. More specifically, they can also set their channel to be discoverable in the directory or not.

“To start the Channel, we are excited to work with leading global voices and selected organizations in Colombia and Singapore,” wrote the official press release from WhatsApp Indonesia.

Colombia and Singapore are indeed the first two countries to get this Channel feature. But WhatsApp promises that in the coming months they will expand this feature to more countries, including Indonesia.