Now its easier to search channels on WhatsApp

Though WhatsApp is constantly adding more and more features for its users, Telegram remains on top with its consumer-focused features. WhatsApp has recently introduced channels to the platform, but they are somehow still being developed through some means. For now, we are getting the chance to know more about the implementation of channels on the platform, including information about its discoverability.

We can now search for channels by name; this feature was discovered in WhatsApp beta version 2.23.12.4, as per information via WABetaInfo. Channels are searchable alphabetically as well as in terms of their popularity and recency.

Though this feature appeared in the WhatsApp beta, it might not be available to all users for now. However, the brief preview presented by WABetaInfo indicates the release of channels is not that far from being widely available for all users.

Channels would function similarly to a WhatsApp broadcast, with precautions added to secure the members’ identities, according to the information previously made public. For instance, neither the contacts stored on the device nor the channels their friends and family have subscribed to will be visible to everyone. Additionally, members and subscribers won’t be able to view the channel owner’s phone number.

Additionally, we’ve found that channels might be on the Status tab, which would then be renamed to Updates. Being intended for one-way communication, WABetaInfo pointed out in April that messages transmitted over channels wouldn’t be end-to-end secured. Thankfully, as channels function independently of private or group conversations, this won’t allegedly have an impact on the encryption mechanisms now in use for private messages.