WhatsApp officially launches its new Communities feature

All users will soon be able to access WhatsApp's Communities feature globally. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and founder of Meta, confirmed the news in a post. Additionally, WhatsApp is expanding the maximum number of members in a group to 1024 and introducing additional group updates like in-chat polls and 32-person video calling. It should be noted that the 32-person video call limit for call connections, where a group call might be started by creating a link, was previously mentioned back in September.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta, at the feature's launch 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 are secured by end-to-end encryption so your messages stay private.”

The Communities feature, which was introduced earlier this year, is meant to make group management and communication more effective for both admins and users. Anyone will be able to manage a community of their own on the platform and then ask several groups to join it, as WhatsApp views Communities as a "directory of groups." These groups will only be included in the Community, nevertheless, if their admins accept the invitation. According to WhatsApp, a particular company may have a single community with a number of its groups added to it. Or there might be a community made up of all the parent-teacher groups from a single school.

According to WhatsApp, users may access the feature by tapping on the new communities tab, which is at the top of their chats on Android and the bottom on iOS. Users will be able to either add existing groups or create a new Community from start. Users can easily switch between the groups that are available once they are in a community to receive the information they require. The Community can receive new updates from admins. Additionally, users will have access to tools for reporting abuse, blocking accounts, and leaving Communities. Phone numbers will be hidden from the Community at large.