WhatsApp’s newest feature brings a different vibe to the world’s most popular messaging app, and likely not for the better. It's called Channels, and it's specifically for more-than-necessary broadcasts rather than conversations.
Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp, calls it “a private way to follow what matters” and uses local sports updates as an example of how you might use it. Sound familiar?
Basically, Channels are a Twitter feed. The WhatsApp team has probably taken notice of all the Twitter refugees searching for a new place to share their essential updates, and considers Channels as a quick-fix replacement. This makes sense in a way, as it’s a familiar setup on an app a lot of people use on a daily basis.
Channels act as a creator tool and its a place to “send texts, photos, videos stickers and polls” according to a WhatsApp blog post. The company has plans to build payment and monetization services into the feature. You’ll be able to find channels by searching for them in WhatsApp – as you would on Twitter – or browsing a newly-created directory and seeing updates from the channels you follow in the ‘Status’ section of the app.
The team explains in the blog post that privacy is key to the experience, which is why channel admin information won’t be shared and the app will only store 30 days' worth of channel history. Channel admins can even block screenshots and the sharing of messages or content, keeping what is in the channel private and contained.
The channels won’t be end-to-end encrypted (where only the users communicating can read the messages). Instead, they’re treated more like your messages with businesses on WhatsApp, though Meta does say it’s thinking about ways to encrypt some channels over time. This would be a key selling point of Channels if WhatsApp is looking to tempt brands, government agencies and others looking to move over to the app.
