KUALA LUMPUR: Instant messaging application, WhatsApp, today announced that it will start rolling out the Communities feature globally and this will be available to everyone in Malaysia over the next few months.
Communities can now connect various groups under one roof to organise group conversations on WhatsApp, including neighbourhoods, parents at a school, and workplaces.
To get started, tap on the new communities tab at the top of the chats on Android, or for iOS users, at the bottom. From there you can start a new Community from scratch or add existing groups.
You can easily switch between available groups once you're in a community to get the information you need, when you need it. Administrators have the ability to send important updates to everyone in the Community.
"With Communities, we're aiming to raise the bar for how organisations communicate with a level of privacy and security not found anywhere else," it said in a statement.
The alternatives that are currently available require users to trust apps or software providers with a copy of their messages, and the company believes that users deserve the higher level of security that end-to-end encryption offers.
In the same statement, WhatsApp also shared that it will be introducing three new features with the update.
"Today we're also releasing three more features we think users will be excited about: the ability to create in-chat polls, 32 person video calling, and groups with up to 1024 users. Just like emoji reactions, larger file sharing, and admin delete, these features can be used in any group but will be particularly helpful for Communities."
The company added that they've been collaborating with more than 50 organisations in 15 nations to create Communities that meet their needs, and they're thrilled with the early feedback that suggests these new tools are assisting organisations like these in becoming better organised and achieving their objectives.
"There's a lot more we plan to build and we'll keep adding features over the coming months. For now, we're excited to get this into more people's hands and hear your feedback too."