Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on Thursday introduced WhatsApp Channels, a feature that the social media giant said would help make the app a “private broadcast messaging product.”
The announcement was made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via his Instagram channel. Channels are described as separate from personal chats and will be displayed in a new Updates tab.
He described the Channels as a private feature that allows people to follow people and organisations that matter to them. Zuckerberg said the feature is rolling out first in Singapore and Colombia and will roll out to everyone later this year.
Excerpt from the post:
“Everyone, today we’re announcing WhatsApp channels, which are going to let you privately follow people and organisations that you want to get updates from. WhatsApp channels are separate from your personal chats and they’ll show up on a new Updates tab where over time you’re going to be able to find all of the channels that you want to follow.“
Users in Colombia and Singapore will be the first to receive access to Channels. Over the coming months, Meta will expand the availability of the tool for users in more countries, it said.
