WhatsApp has launched a new feature that allows users to combine multiple chats together into a single group topic.
Announced earlier this year, WhatsApp Communities allows users to make one large group chat with multiple smaller group chats. Admins can share messages with people across all groups.
For example, if you have multiple group chats with different parents from your children's' school, you can put them into one "community" and send messages to all groups.
The latest WhatsApp update will also allow users to create polls and share them with other chats. In addition, the social media messenger will enable up to 32 people to take part in a single video call.
In a blog post announcing the roll out, WhatsApp said: “With Communities, we’re aiming to raise the bar for how organisations communicate with a level of privacy and security not found anywhere else.
“The alternatives available today require trusting apps or software companies with a copy of their messages – and we think they deserve the higher level of security provided by end-to-end encryption.
“Once you’re in a community, you can easily switch between available groups to get the information you need, when you need it, and admins can send important updates to everyone in the Community.”
Mark Zuckerberg, the head of WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, said: “Today we’re launching Communities on WhatsApp. It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more.
“We’re also rolling out polls and 32-person video calling too. All secured by end-to-end encryption so your messages stay private.”
How to create a WhatsApp community
1. Open WhatsApp > tap New chat > New Community > Get Started.
2. Enter the community name, description, and profile photo. Your description should provide members an idea of what your community is about.
- You can add a community icon by tapping the Camera icon. You can choose Take Photo, Choose Photo, or Search Web to add an image.
3. Tap Next to add existing groups or create a new group. To add groups to your community:
- Tap Create New Group or Add Existing Group.
- Create New Group: Enter the group subject. This will be the name of the group that all participants will see.
- You can create up to 10 new groups. You can add a group icon as well as a short description of the group.
4. Add Existing Group: You can choose to add groups you’re currently an admin of to your community. Select which groups to add then tap Next.
5. When finished adding groups to your community, tap create.
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