While we’ve previously reported that WhatsApp has been testing out the Communities feature, the latest beta version hints that the feature could come as a separate and dedicated tab within the UI of the app.
According to the latest update from WABetaInfo, the WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.22.6.9 shows a new layout for the main menu of the Meta-owned instant messaging app. While the current stable version of the app on Android has a camera icon on the left side, it may soon be replaced with the group icon that you commonly see on Facebook.
While this is a minor UI change that will come to the app, the communities feature is already under beta testing on both Android and iOS. There has been no additional information so far about how the feature works except that it involves creating a separate group. Members within different groups can all join in and be part of one community with common interests.
From the screenshot, it is clear that users who join a community would no longer have to scroll through their list of chats to find a specific community that they have joined. Currently, it becomes a hassle to search through hundreds of chats to find a specific group especially if someone is part of 15 different groups.
The new communities tab could make it simpler to manage multiple groups or merge multiple groups into one community for easier control and management of messages. It is still unclear as to what limits WhatsApp would have in place when it comes to the number of members who can be part of communities within the app at this time. The final release of this new feature is yet to be decided.
Better integration for Facebook communities
The communities or group features with Facebook’s pages may benefit from the rollout of this new feature. Many of these communities can continue posting through WhatsApp and would no longer be restricted to one platform. Bringing a communities tab could be another step by the company Meta to connect all of its apps together.
While Discord still continues to be the leading app for communities, WhatsApp has been testing out similar features to make it competitive. The app is expected to increase file sharing sizes to up to 2GB and also allow admins to create polls within groups. The latter could also be available in the communities feature. While the new tab makes it easier to manage communities, we hope that the company uses the same tab to manage groups in the future.
