From an instant messaging app to a one-way broadcasting service; Meta-Owned Company WhatsApp embarks on its journey to beat Telegram. WhatsApp Channels allows people and organizations to share information with users who follow them.
Instant messaging app, WhatsApp launches a new telegram-like feature, called WhatsApp Channels for one-way broadcasting. First rolled in Colombia and Singapore in June 2023, the Channels is now the talk of the town in India and over 150 countries where it launched itself as a one-way broadcasting tool, using which admins can share text, photos, videos, and other media files with their followers.
On WhatsApp, channels are quite different from chats as the followers are not visible to each other. It is a simple and private method to follow communities, brands and people to stay ahead of the topics of your interest. However, followers can’t reply to the messages and can react with emojis of their choice. This newly launched feature is initially available to sports teams, celebrities, thought leaders and artists.
With an improved directory, you can filter channels based on countries, while sorting out among what is new, active, and the most popular. In order to keep up with the security factor, it enables channel admins and followers to hide their email IDs and phone numbers. Moreover, the channel history will be stored in the WhatsApp servers for up to 30 days. There is a feature that lets you disappear updates automatically for a specific period. Admins have the authority to block forwards and screenshots from their channels.
After launching features like Chat Lock, WhatsApp Payment, and Sent Edit Messages, WhatsApp is taking its game to the next level while offering people a convenient way to reach a larger audience and share information in a specific and structured way. The main objective behind the Channels is to support businesses and other particular tasks like news dissemination, promotion of products or services, community construction, sharing educational content, and updates from blogs and websites.
This Meta-launched feature is spreading across the globe and becoming mainstream, which is why people are considering this new addition an emerging threat to another competitive instant Messaging app Telegram. In the upcoming weeks, users will be able to create their own communities and share content within their specific channels. With this new addition, it is interesting to see how WhatsApp is taking over the market of Telegram.
