WhatsApp has confirmed the launch of its new Communities update, in a move designed to boost the functionality of group chats and improve discovery options.
The new update will allow users to collate related group chats under a single Community banner, making switching between these chats much easier and more efficient.
Each Community will have a description of its particular topic, with sub-groups that interested users can join. This will boost discovery options by allowing users to find new groups related to topics they are interested in.
“Communities like neighborhoods, parents at a school, and workplaces can now connect multiple groups together under one umbrella to organize group conversations on WhatsApp,” said WhatsApp.
The Communities update also includes things like emoji reactions, group-based audio calls, and improved file-sharing capabilities.
It is expected to prove particularly useful for brands. It will allow them to build groups of people interested in their products in one easily targeted space.
Last year, WhatsApp announced plans to launch five new features. These included a new unlimited timeframe for the ‘delete for everyone’ option, integration with Instagram Reels, a logout option, a ‘read later’ feature, and the ability for users to hide their ‘last seen’ status from individual contacts.
