WhatsApp Communities feature goes live in UK allowing users to merge group chats

WhatsApp groups now can be brought together with the new feature
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WhatsApp has launched a new feature in the UK allowing group chats to be bundled together under a single topic.

The Communities feature allows users to organise different group chats together under a main topic and then Community admins can share messages with people across all groups.

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The feature is being rolled out as part of an update that will also allow users to create and take part in polls with their chats.

WhatsApp groups now can be brought together with the new featureWhatsApp groups now can be brought together with the new feature
WhatsApp groups now can be brought together with the new feature

WhatsApp said in a blog post announcing the rollout: “With Communities, we’re aiming to raise the bar for how organisations communicate with a level of privacy and security not found anywhere else

“The alternatives available today require trusting apps or software companies with a copy of their messages – and we think they deserve the higher level of security provided by end-to-end encryption.

“Once you’re in a community, you can easily switch between available groups to get the information you need, when you need it, and admins can send important updates to everyone in the Community.”

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In addition, group video calling will now support up to 32 participants.

Mark Zuckerberg, the head of WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, said: “Today we’re launching Communities on WhatsApp.

“It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more.

“We’re also rolling out polls and 32-person video calling too. All secured by end-to-end encryption so your messages stay private.”

How to make a community

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As the feature is now live, WhatsApp users should see a new ‘communities’ tab within the app. This will be located at the top of chats on an Android phone and down at the bottom for those using an iPhone.

From here, users can make a new community from scratch or from a selection of existing groups chats.

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