Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday joined WhatsApp Channels, the instant messaging platform's answer to Meta-sibling Instagram's Broadcast. It allows users to start a one-way broadcasting channel and connect with a large number of subscribers at once.
If you have received the Channels update on your WhatsApp, you can look up PM Modi's WhatsApp Channel and start following it, just like Instagram. To protect users' data, the phone number of the Channel creator will remain hidden from members. ANI shared a screenshot of the prime minister's Channels' invite on X (formerly Twitter).
Meta launched WhatsApp Channels in India and around 150 more countries earlier this month. The Mark Zuckerberg-owned social media giant has emphasised the autonomy of Channels, ensuring that the identities of followers remain confidential to one another. These Channels serve as a tool for unidirectional broadcasting, allowing administrators to share various content types, including text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls, all while protecting the privacy of both administrators and followers.
WhatsApp Channels: How To Access And Use
To unlock the Channels feature, WhatsApp has introduced a distinct tab called Updates. This tab allows users to easily access Status updates and the channels they opt to follow, segregating these interactions from their personal conversations with friends, family, and communities. Additionally, channels can be accessed via invitation links shared in various mediums like chats, emails, or online postings.
As this feature expands globally, WhatsApp is dedicated to enhancing the functionality and user interface of Channels. The updates will enable users to explore channels through a searchable directory that is automatically filtered based on the country. Channels can also be perused based on their level of activity, popularity, or recentness.
Much like Instagram Broadcast channels, WhatsApp Channels users can respond to updates and share feedback using emojis. The total count of reactions will be visible, but the specific reactions from administrators will remain confidential.
In the near future, administrators will have the capability to edit their updates within a 30-day window before automatic deletion from WhatsApp's servers.
Whenever administrators forward an update to chats or groups, it will include a link back to the channel, simplifying access to further information.
WhatsApp is implementing measures to prevent message congestion in channels by retaining channel history on its servers for a maximum of 30 days. Moreover, the company is actively developing features to expedite the removal of updates from followers' devices. Administrators will also have the choice to limit screenshots and forwards within their channels.
Alongside these functionalities, WhatsApp is empowering administrators to control who can follow their channel and whether it's searchable in the directory. It's essential to highlight that, as a default setting, channels do not utilise end-to-end encryption, given their primary goal of reaching a broad audience.