Meta-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp has released a new feature, similar to Telegram. This feature has been released for the WhatsApp channel. The company has included a Directory Search feature in WhatsApp Channels, which helps users find channels created by their favorite content creators, businesses, or celebrities. Not only this, users also get the facility to react to the messages of the creators.
Directory Search Feature
WhatsApp Channels are rolling out to users in 150 countries, including India, the instant messaging app announced on Wednesday. Let us tell you that this feature was seen in developing mode earlier this year. Now it will be released for all users in the coming weeks. Meta's co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced this on his channel. Users can also join the official WhatsApp channel to learn more about the features and new updates. Let us tell you that Instagram already supports a similar feature. Now WhatsApp has also rolled out this feature.
How will the feature work
WhatsApp channels will be displayed in a new tab called Updates on iOS and Android smartphones. This tab will include WhatsApp status messages as well as the new WhatsApp Channels feature. Users can also access an enhanced director that is filtered based on their country and can view channels that are popular based on the number of followers, most active, and new on WhatsApp.
Numbers will not be visible for users' privacy
WhatsApp channels can be joined by users who have a valid invite link. The company says that to protect user privacy, the app will not display the phone number information of users who create channels. Members will not be able to see other people connected to the same channel and their phone numbers will also be hidden from the channel owner.
According to the company, messages sent through WhatsApp channels will be visible only for 30 days. Also, channel members can respond to the shared messages, however, users will not be able to reply to these messages. Messages transmitted in a channel will be secured with end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp says that users' direct messages, group chats, calls, status messages, and attachments will be protected by end-to-end encryption.
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