WhatsApp has been adding numerous new features to its messaging platform to improve the user experience of late. Earlier this year, XDA Developers discovered that the Meta-owned platform is working on a new “Communities” feature. Now, reputable tipster WABetaInfo has hinted at the existence of this feature in its latest report.
As per WABetaInfo’s report, 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.
Now, as explained by WABetaInfo, 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.
Although there is not much information about WhatsApp’s Communities feature as of now, the report says that the chats will be end-to-end encrypted. Furthermore, the Communities profile icon will also be different than the standard round profile icons. They will be squared-off with rounded corners, a format that was accidentally leaked with WhatsApp beta for Android (v2.21.21.7) earlier this year. You can check out the preview of the Communities feature right below.
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.
Now, coming to the availability of the Communities feature on WhatsApp, it is expected to arrive for beta testers with a future update soon. However, WhatsApp might take some time to refine the feature before releasing it to the masses.
