WhatsApp has begun rolling out a new “Communities” feature allowing users to place various chat groups into more organized frameworks to serve local communities such as schools and apartment complexes.
The update will allow WhatsApp to compete with other popular group-based private messaging apps, such as Discord and Telegram.
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The Communities feature was previewed by parent company Meta in April. It will allow chat groups to organize under more extensive networks and empower administrators to send alerts to large groups of users. The new update also allows up to 1,024 users to be in the same group, a significant increase from the previous restriction of 256 users.
“Communities on WhatsApp connects related groups under one umbrella to better organize your conversations — and it’s rolling out globally,” Meta tweeted on Thursday. “Easily send updates for your next school bake sale or apartment building hangout.”
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The app also added 32-person video calling and in-chat polling.
Meta’s update to WhatsApp arrives a week after the Big Tech company saw a massive drop in stock value alongside reports of its metaverse efforts struggling. The company reported a decline in revenue for the second quarter in a row. This decline contributed to Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg losing more than $100 billion in net worth over the last year.
