WABetaInfo: WhatsApp is working on channels that resemble mailing lists

WhatsApp is working on channels for the app. With this feature, the app could become more similar to Telegram, which is mainly used for its public and semi-public ‘channels’, although it is not possible to see which users are in the channels.

WhatsApp is currently working on that feature, writes WATBetaInfo. The feature discovered this in beta version 2.23.8.6 of the Android app, although the feature is not available to testers.

With the new feature it should be possible to create a channel. The so-called channels are somewhat similar to how Telegram works, although according to WABetaInfo there is a big difference between the two services. On WhatsApp, users would not be able to see each other in a channel. It is also not publicly visible which channels an individual user follows. The channels are therefore a kind of intermediate form of a private conversation and a mailing list. According to WABetaInfo, end-to-end encryption for channels would not work.

The function should be found in the Status tab. This will be renamed Updates in the beta, where the channels will be visible next to existing statuses. Statuses can then be found horizontally at the top of the tab, just like stories in most other apps. It is not known when the function will become available or when it can be generally tested.