WhatsApp’s Communities feature, which Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year, is finally rolling out to WhatsApp beta users. The feature allows users to create smaller groups within groups and the new update could mean that a stable version could also be out soon.
A new report by WABetaInfo suggests that select users who are on the WhatsApp beta v2.22.193 version on Android can find the Communities tab on their app. Not all users would see the tab and some might even have to force-quit the app and restart it for the tab to appear.
The Communities tab would replace the camera tab on the left of the main WhatsApp screen. Users for whom the tab is visible will be able to create a Community with up to 10 groups in it and support for up to 512 participants.
What is a Community?
Think of it this way. You join a new institution — a new workplace or school — and then immediately you are a part of an official group that sends out all announcements and addresses queries. A little while later, you’re a part of a smaller circle, say your teammates or your classmates, to get more specific updates that do not necessarily apply to people outside the group. The more time you spend there, the more groups you are a part of — for chit chatting, planning work schedules, study groups and whatnot.
WhatsApp Communities put all of those groups in one place, so you don’t have to go looking for a group and accidentally text on the wrong one. A Community is basically a group of these smaller groups. Admins will be able to send messages either to a particular group or to the entire Community on the announcement group, which will be automatically created with the Community.
Once users are a part of a Community, they can decide which subgroup they want to be a part of. They also have the option of leaving a certain subgroup without having to leave the Community itself.
WhatsApp is also reportedly working on hiding the members of a group from others in the Community for privacy reasons but it has not been implemented yet.
If you are not a beta user and only have the stable version of WhatsApp, you will have to wait longer to experience the feature. The full version will only be released after bugs — if any — are eliminated.
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