WhatsApp's Plan To Have Over 1,000 People In One Group
The update was released to users on WhatsApp beta for Android and iOS but is limited only to a certain group of beta testers.
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Popular messaging application, WhatsApp, is planning to double the maximum capacity of people joining a group chat from its current limit of 512 people.
A report by WABetaInfo on Sunday, October 9 revealed that the Meta-owned platform is testing a feature that can allow admins to add up to 1,024 people in a single group.
The update was released to users on WhatsApp beta for Android and iOS but is limited only to a certain group of beta testers.
Screenshot of WhatsApp testing its capacity for users to add 1,024 people to one group. /WABETAINFO
"This feature is available on WhatsApp beta for Android and iOS but it is limited to a certain undefined number of beta testers. If you want to check if the feature is available for your WhatsApp account, just try to create a group or add new participants to an existing one: in this section, you can see what the limit configured for your account," wrote the website in part.
The ability for users to add over 1,000 people to a WhatsApp group would be useful for enterprises or if one is using a group for broadcasting purposes. It will allow them to send a message or information to many people in one go.
In comparison, Telegram, its competitor, can accommodate groups of up to 200,000 members with support for replies, mentions and hashtags that help maintain order and keep communication in large communities efficient.
WhatsApp is also working on several features to give more power to its users. It released an improved version of view once messages to some beta testers that install the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.22.3 update whereby some users cannot take screenshots or screen recordings to view once images and videos.
It is also releasing an optional subscription plan to certain businesses: WhatsApp Premium which will allow businesses to take advantage of a custom business link and the ability to add up to 10 linked devices.
On Monday, September 26, Will Cathcart, WhatsApp Head Manager in Meta, revealed that the app rolled out a new feature that will allow users to join audio and video calls, even those that are not on the platform.
Users will find the option to create a video link under the calls tab. Once the link is created, they can share it with friends and family to join the video call.
Beforehand, users could only add their contacts to ongoing video calls or initiate video calls from pre-made groups. With the new feature, even those not in your contacts list can join the call.
The app is expected to use the new feature to compete against the likes of Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams which offer a far greater caller capacity (100 for Google and Microsoft Teams and 300 for Zoom).
WhatsApp's new feature dubbed 'Call Links'. /TWITTER
