WhatsApp has been getting lots of features recently to improve the user experience of late, however, the list doesn’t end here. Back in November, XDA Developers went through Whatsapp’s APK and revealed that the platform is working on a ‘Communities’ feature that will be similar to Discord. Now, WABetaInfo is backing up the claim. This feature will reportedly run along with the Groups feature. In other words, Whatsapp will be retaining the Groups feature.
The Communities feature will primarily be an extension of WhatsApp groups. However, unlike groups on the messaging platform, Communities on WhatsApp will give admins more control over them, allowing them to merge multiple groups and bring them under a unified umbrella.
The chats will be end-to-end encrypted. The Communities profile icon will be squared-off with rounded corners, something different from the usual round profile icons.
Image Credit: WABetaInfo
Admins will be able to invite users to join a community or manually add them to relevant communities on the platform. Otherwise, users will also be able to join Communities on WhatsApp using a “Community Invite Link” sent by admins. Plus, admins will be able to share a “Community Invite Link” as a QR code for users to easily join their Communities.
Image Credit: WABetaInfo
According to WABetaInfo, the Communities feature in WhatsApp is currently under development and will be available on WhatsApp beta for iOS and Android with a future update. However, it is not yet live for beta testers.
