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meta will debut a new broadcasting feature called “Channels” for its WhatsApp messaging service.
The social networking giant said on Thursday that the new channels feature is similar to a “private broadcast service” that allows individuals and organizations to send messages and updates to their followers, combining interpersonal communication like that between WhatsApp users. said it was something else.
Admins who oversee a WhatsApp channel will be able to send texts, photos, videos, stickers and polls to their followers, but followers will not be able to reply to messages. Channel admins are not allowed to add followers to their channel and messages are kept for him for 30 days before being deleted.
Unlike traditional WhatsApp messages, the channel will not use end-to-end encryption to “reach a wider audience,” WhatsApp said in a blog post. WhatsApp added that end-to-end encrypted channels could emerge in the future for organizations such as non-profits and medical institutions looking to make their communications more secure.
WhatsApp users will finally be able to find channels they want to join in a searchable directory. You can now access the channels you follow from the new Updates tab. WhatsApp said the tab will be “separated from chats with family, friends and community.”
WhatsApp is working with various organizations, including the Singapore Heart Foundation and the non-profit Colombia Check, as part of plans to debut the channel in Colombia and Singapore before launching more broadly in other countries later this year. said.
WhatsApp plans to eventually allow anyone to create a WhatsApp channel, in addition to current launch partners including the International Rescue Commission and the World Health Organization.
Back when Meta was known as Facebook, Acquisition WhatsApp was $19 billion in 2014.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently Said CNBC’s Jim Cramer said WhatsApp is the “next chapter” for the social networking company and an opportunity for Meta to build a profitable business similar to Instagram and its core Facebook app.
Meta derives most of its billions of dollars in annual revenue from online advertising, but has avoided adding advertising to WhatsApp like Facebook and Instagram for now. Instead, Meta is promoting its messaging features as a way to monetize WhatsApp for businesses and wants to offer a more attractive way for businesses. engaged with the user.
In fact, Meta said in a blog post, the company “uses our expanding payment offerings and the ability to promote specific channels in our directory to empower managers in the way they build their business around channels. I think there is an opportunity to support it,” he said. Helps raise awareness. ”
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