WhatsApp Channels are expanding to 150 countries

WhatsApp's Channels came on the scene in early June and has since only made its way into ten countries. Now, Meta has announced its expanding channels to over 150 countries — quite the leap — along with adding new features and public figures. 

Meta claims thousands of new organizations and celebs are coming to Channels, ranging from the MLB to Olivia Rodrigo. As part of its expansion, you should now get recommendations of accounts to follow based on your location and their popularity. Other updates include the ability to provide feedback with emojis and letting channel admins to edit their Updates for the entire 30 days before WhatsApp automatically deletes them. Arguably, the most helpful new feature for community building is that any Update you forward to friends will now link back to the original channel. WhatsApp is launching its own channel, as well, to share future updates as they come. 

With Channels, Meta hopes to "build the most private broadcast service available." To this end, other users can't see who you follow, and your phone number isn't shared with someone simply because you follow them. 

Channels first made its way onto fellow Meta-owned company Instagram in February as a not-so-subtle copy of Telegram's channels feature. Its expansion to WhatsApp came as one of Meta's many attempts to make the messaging app, well, more than just a basic messaging app. Much of this has involved launching features similar to other companies, such as entering and leaving ongoing group chats (Discord) and instant video messages (Snapchat, Telegram). None of this is to knock WhatsApp specifically— it's rare that you get a totally original idea on social media these days. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-channels-are-expanding-to-150-countries-130143201.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-channels-are-expanding-to-150-countries-130143201.html?src=rss
Creato 2y | 13 set 2023, 15:20:20


Accedi per aggiungere un commento

Altri post in questo gruppo

A four-pack of Samsung SmartTag 2 trackers is on sale for $58 right now

A four-pack of Samsung’s SmartTag 2 trackers

4 apr 2025, 16:50:21 | Engadget
It's been six years since I played Silksong, and I'm OK waiting a little longer

It was Tuesday June 25, 2019. San Francisco became the first US city to (temporarily)

4 apr 2025, 16:50:20 | Engadget
Amazon's 'Buy for Me' AI will purchase stuff from third-party websites

Amazon has started testing another AI-powered feature called "Buy for Me," which

4 apr 2025, 14:40:14 | Engadget
Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on: A funky fresh take on Nintendo's favorite ape

You have to go all the way back to the Nintendo 64 to play the most recent 3D Donkey Kong game. But without a new mainline Zelda or Mario title (

4 apr 2025, 14:40:12 | Engadget
How to stream March Madness 2025: Watch the Final Four games on April 4 and 5

By now, your brackets were likely busted a long time ago. The 2025 NCAA Tournaments, affectio

4 apr 2025, 14:40:11 | Engadget