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WhatsApp’s Developing A New ‘Communities’ Feature

MaryGrace Lerin

WhatsApp is developing a feature called "Communities" that might revolutionize group communication. It first emerged last November in the app's beta version and has been speculated for months since then. However, recent betas reveal that it is not just in development, but that new tools are being incorporated as well.


The pivotal feature update has yet to be recognized by WhatsApp or its parent company, Meta. Additional features are being added to "Communities," according to new findings from WABetaInfo, which follows WhatsApp upgrades before they reach the complete public release.


WhatsApp's group chats were initially designed to be like a bigger version of a regular chat, with a small number of connected individuals who talked of different subjects. Eventually, they evolved into something completely different over time. They are utilized by groups of people who have never met but come together in a common interest, such as being a co-worker, course students, or members of a club.


The WhatsApp communities feature appears to be built into this setting. It seems to be designed to bring together a large group of people and allow them to discuss specific issues in a structured way.


For example, all employees at a company can join and find specific groups for different departments or teams, or students can join particular groups for each lesson. That's similar to how Slack and Discord work: they're both organized groups with smaller, more focused channels within them. WhatsApp is developing a "Community Home" page as part of the new feature, as seen in recent betas. According to WABetaInfo, it displays all of the chats related to a single community.


Administrators would be able to manage groups as a whole, with specific options that are currently unknown. According to the website, it would also facilitate more precise control over the chats.


It is uncertain when or if the community tools will be included in WhatsApp's public edition. Although references have been showing in the app's beta version for quite some time now, significant improvements can take months to come or even be scrapped altogether before being launched.

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