community: Here’s how WhatsApp Community feature may work on Android smartphones – Times of India

WhatsApp has reportedly started to roll out the first beta update of this year for Android users. As per a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has released a new update through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the version up to 2.22.2.10. The report further mentions that the latest beta update comes with hidden references about a feature that will allow users to create Communities in future updates. Similar hidden reference was also spotted on the beta update released for iOS smartphones a few weeks ago. For those who don’t know, the Facebook owned messaging platform has been working on a Community feature for a while.
According to the screenshots shared by WABetainfo, a Community has a name and a description, as seen on a Group. After entering the name and the description, users will get an option to create a new Group or link up to 10 Groups. Apart from this, the update also has reference of a mysterious Group in the Community. The purpose of the Group that is automatically created by the platform is unknown but reports suggest that it will allow admins to share a message to all the linked Groups.
A previous report by WABetainfo suggests that when users join a community, they won’t be able to view groups that have been unlinked. In addition, when users leave a community, they won’t be able to view linked Groups to the Community anymore. Since this feature is under development, you cannot create communities right now. The platform will likely roll out the feature in future updates.
WhatsApp is also redesigning the way you receive a notification when someone mentions you and replies to your message in a Group. With the latest beta update for iOS users, Group message notifications will mention if someone has replied to your message or if someone has mentioned you in the message on the Group along with a short message preview and Group name.