WhatsApp it aims at a single long-term goal: to become a superapp or super application. In China we have already seen how social networks offer many more services by being connected to bank accounts, virtual stores and multimedia content streaming services. Well, Meta wants to have the first superapp in the West with the transformation of WhatsApp. In Brazil, for example, the integrated payment system and product catalogs for stores that dispatch through the same application have already begun to be tested.
The last big change that will reach all users are the “channels”. This was announced by the company on its official blog. It is a tool that will allow different accounts to create newsletters and news updates that can be distributed massively through subscriptions.
“Our goal is to develop the most private streaming service available. To do this, the first step is to protect the personal information of both administrators and followers. As a channel admin, your phone number and profile picture will not be shown to followers. Similarly, when you follow a channel, your phone number will not be revealed to the admin or other followers. You decide who to follow and this election is private”, details the company in this regard.
What are WhatsApp “channels”?
“Channels” will act as a one-way broadcast tool, allowing admins to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls to their followers. To make it easier to choose which channels to follow, WhatsApp will implement a searchable directory, where users can locate topics of interest, from sports teams to updates from local officials.
Of course, this system could go against account security and privacy guidelines. WhatsApp explains that measures have been implemented in this regard to keep the private information of administrators and followers confidential. Profile photos and phone numbers will not be shared. Nor will anyone be informed who you are following.
Control of administrators
Little by little, WhatsApp has given more roles to WhatsApp group administrators. With the advent of “channels”, the app will allow them to control who can follow their channel and whether they want their channel to appear in the directory. These channels are designed to attract a large audience, so they will not have end-to-end encryption by default.
It is proposed that in the future there will be channels that do have the encryption security system. The reason for this decision is that the content being shared is public and should not be protected. In this way, it is much easier to share content in a massive way with a large number of subscribers or followers.
“Naturally, the main use of WhatsApp among people will continue to be sending private messages between friends, family and communities, and that will always be our first priority. Creating channels represents a big step that our users have been asking us for for years. We think the time has finally come to integrate a simple, reliable, and private streaming tool, and we hope you enjoy using it in the months and years to come.”, ends the statement.
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