A significant update to WhatsApp’s Channels feature was recently released by Meta-owned company WhatsApp to increase user engagement and competition in the messaging app industry. A new approach to interacting with information on the platform allows users to share channel posts through their status updates.
WhatsApp’s capabilities have been enhanced with the addition of four new features linked to channels, some of which were tried in beta versions beforehand. The update has been formally released after successful testing for both the iOS and Android versions.
While sharing channel postings in private or public conversations is nothing new, this update highlights the ability to share them via status updates. According to sources, the functionality may have been accessible for a few days before the formal announcement, which was posted on the channel page a few days ago.
For users of Android, iOS, and Web/desktop applications, WhatsApp offers guidance on how to submit a Channel update on the Status tab through its FAQ page. On Android phones, this entails long-pressing the selected post, selecting the right-facing arrow on the upper right corner, and proceeding to the Forward to screen, where Status appears prominently next to people you’ve contacted recently and recent conversations.
While the ability is now available on mobile devices, WhatsApp Web plans to incorporate it. Users may only share channel postings with friends or groups on the stable version of WhatsApp Web at the moment, but future upgrades may bring about changes.
WhatsApp is committed to being competitive in the ever-evolving messaging app market, as seen by its continuous development, which is exemplified by features like Channels.
