WhatsApp to elaborate Communities once again
We can’t dispute that the features WhatsApp does implement feel carefully crafted to suit WhatsApp’s user-friendliness and interface, even though it may feel like it’s playing a never-ending game of catching up to Telegram. Communities were first introduced to us by WhatsApp not long ago, but it seems the concept could use a refresher. Programmers at Meta have rolled out an update, making this clear in a recent beta release of the app.
Communities are like channels on a Discord server or Slack workplace in that they act as an umbrella organization for numerous groups run by the same entities. Members can select whatever groups they want to take part in, and each group can discuss a distinct but indirectly related issue. The introduction graphic on WhatsApp’s Communities page when you aren’t yet a member of one explains everything.
There is a new description under the Communities tab
WABetaInfo discovers a new message in the Android app’s version 2.23.12.13, where WhatsApp now notes that the feature brings together several groups in a single location with the added benefit of a specific Community Announcements group for information from administrators. Participants can sign up for any of the community groups, but admin approval might be needed if groups are configured in this manner.
The way Communities and the associated group chats appear in your chat list on WhatsApp is also changing. Up until this point, Communities’ chat list icon had a squircle rather than the standard circular icon used for individual and group conversations, and groups connected to Communities had a stacked circular icon. According to WABetaInfo, the Community Announcements group has a squircle icon with a loudhailer in the lower-right corner in version 2.23.13.12. The community’s squircle icon with a little group icon nestled in the lower right is now present in group talks that are connected to the Community.
As a result of this update, it is now quite simple to distinguish between Community chats and your own groups. The former has the same squircle emblem, while the latter has circular ones. Another feature that lets you specify an expiration date for pinned messages was also discovered by WABetaInfo in testing the same version of WhatsApp. When a message’s contents are likely to become obsolete over time, such as when information about the upcoming meteor shower is shared in an astrophotography group, this can be a fantastic addition.
There is currently no way to define a custom expiration date, and the implementation only offers you the three options of 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days for message expiration. Fortunately, you can always unpin the message and manually override the timer if you’d rather.
Communities’ updated iconography and feature introduction are currently trickling out to Google Play Store beta channel users, with more testers likely to see them in the coming days. Pinched message times are still under development; therefore, it’s impossible to say with certainty when the functionality will be made available in beta. These changes collectively may make it simpler to share information within WhatsApp Communities and Groups.
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