After launching “channels” in Singapore and Colombia, WhatsApp is now ready to roll out its latest features to other countries for users with the latest version of WhatsApp for iOS, Android and desktop.
Taking to its official Twitter handle, WhatsApp announced that the channels are now available in additional countries.
Countries where users can now access this feature are Egypt, Chile, Malaysia, Morocco, Ukraine, Kenya and Peru.
To check if this feature is enabled for your WhatsApp account, update the application.
WABefaInfo wrote on its website: “If you live in one of these countries and want to check if this feature is enabled for your WhatsApp account, simply update the WhatsApp application and open it.
“If you see the “Updates” tab, that means you can finally start using Channels right away! Note that it’s available on the WhatsApp for iOS, Android and desktop apps.”
What about my country?
If you live somewhere other than the places listed, you may wonder when the channels will be launched in your country.
Unfortunately, there is currently no update on when the channels will be available in more countries.
However, as WhatsApp is gradually rolling out channels to additional countries at least once a month, it might be rolled out in your country soon.
Don’t know what channels are?
Announced earlier this year, the feature is different from regular chats, as users can follow their favorite channels.
Channel admins can share content like text, images, videos, stickers and polls with their followers.
The feature allows users to share a variety of updates — from hobbies and sports teams to receiving news from local officials.
Meanwhile, the privacy of admins will also be maintained as WhatsApp keeps their phone numbers and profile photos hidden from followers.
Likewise, followers’ phone numbers won’t be revealed to administrators and who they choose to follow, making channels a private tool for broadcasting information.
“WhatsApp believes that channel updates shouldn’t last forever. For this reason, they plan to store channel history on their servers for 30 days, and are developing new tools to make updates disappear from devices even faster,” WhatsApp Watcher previously wrote.
Admins will also be able to block screenshots and forwards from their channels, make their channels discoverable or hide them.
Although these channels are not end-to-end encrypted by default, it is likely that limited audience end-to-end encrypted channels may be introduced in the future for non-profit organizations or healthcare institutions.
