Proof is mounting that WhatsApp could also be engaged on a Communities characteristic. XDA Builders first noticed the chance in October, however now WABetaInfo has come ahead with comparable findings.
Based on WABetaInfo, the Communities characteristic seems to offer group admins extra energy over teams. This consists of the power to create teams inside teams, which can be much like how channels are organized beneath an umbrella Discord neighborhood.
Picture by WABetaInfo
Admins could possibly invite new customers by way of a Group Invite Hyperlink after which begin messaging different members. It’s exhausting to inform how precisely these chats would possibly look proper now, however WABetaInfo notes that they look like end-to-end encrypted.
It additionally appears like a refined design change will assist distinguish Communities from common group chats. As WABetaInfo factors out, neighborhood icons will probably be squares with rounded corners, a format that WhatsApp mistakenly enabled (after which shortly disabled) in October. There’s no phrase on when Communities will probably be formally rolled out.
By engaged on a Communities characteristic, WhatsApp could also be attempting to shut the widening hole between it and different messaging apps like Telegram and Sign. Earlier this yr, WhatsApp’s new privateness coverage precipitated confusion amongst customers about what it might share with mum or dad firm Fb, sparking a mass exodus to these different apps. When WhatsApp went down together with Fb’s whole community of apps final month, Telegram gained a whopping 70 million customers.
