Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram has introduced six new changes to WhatsApp.
The new updates include communities, in-chat polls, 32-person video calling, expansion of groups to 1024 users, larger file-sharing functionality and group admin delete functionality.
- Communities
Communities on WhatsApp connect related groups under one umbrella.
Under communities, people can receive updates sent to the entire Community and easily organize smaller discussion groups on what matters to them.
Communities will also contain powerful new tools for admins, including announcement messages that are sent to everyone and control over which groups can be included.
“Once you’re in a community, you can easily switch between available groups to get the information you need, when you need it, and admins can send important updates to everyone in the Community,” WhatsApp stated.
2. In-chat polls
Meta says that the feature is “a fun and effective way to make decisions in a group without spamming everyone in the chat”.
3. 32-person video calling
“We’re also introducing 32-person video calls for those times when you need to come together as a group, whether that be a family chat or something for work,” Meta said in a blog post.
4. Larger file-sharing functionality
Users will now be able to share files of up to 2GB, from the current limit of 16MB.
5. Group admin delete functionality
Previously, if someone wrongly sent a message to a group, they themselves could delete it, within a limited period of time. With the new updates, group admins have the discretion of deleting messages to groups that are offensive or maybe sent by mistake.
6. Expansion of groups to 1024 users
The current update will also allow groups to have a maximum of 1024 users/members, from the current limit of 256 members.
WhatsApp comment
“We’ve been working with over 50 organizations in 15 countries to build Communities to meet their needs. We’re excited that the feedback we’ve heard so far is these new tools are helping groups like these better organize and achieve their goals. There’s a lot more we plan to build and we’ll keep adding features over the coming months,” Whatsapp said in a blog post.
To get started on the new features, tap on the new communities tab at the top of your chats on Android and at the bottom on iOS. From there you can start a new Community from scratch or add existing groups.
