WhatsApp update brings big changes to popular chat app

WhatsApp is rolling out a feature globally called Communities to organise various chat groups in larger structures, as well as other features such as bigger group video calls and in-chat polls, the messaging service owned by Meta Platforms said on Thursday.

The Communities feature will bring together various chat groups under bigger umbrellas where administrators could send alerts to a community of thousands – a feature that could be used by workplaces or schools.

The app will now also allow chat groups to have up to 1 024 users, much higher than the 256 participants restriction it had until recently, according to a company statement.

WhatsApp rivals, including Telegram and Discord, allow thousands of members in group chats.

Other feature releases include 32-person video calling as well as in-chat polls, a common fixture on social media apps, including Meta’s Facebook and Twitter.  — Praveen Paramasivam and Nandan Mandayam, (c) 2022 Reuters

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