WhatsApp has released a new feature called Communities. It comes with several new features that we will be discussing today in this guide. Note that WhatsApp communities differ from groups in a number of ways. Primarily developed to bring multiple groups under a single umbrella to help organize conversations across different groups, it brings additional options to the table. Here are the best WhatsApp community features in no particular order.
1. Add Groups to Communities
One of the key WhatsApp community features is that you can add existing or new groups to a community. It is easy to create your own community in WhatsApp and add groups to it. Let’s take an example. A school teacher can create a community for her school. Inside that, she will add a group for each individual grade that she teaches.
Now, she can send announcements or alerts to all the groups at once or communicate with each group individually if she so chooses. In the screenshot above, you will another example of TechWiser.
2. Increased File Size Limit
WhatsApp reduces the file size to save space when sharing images and videos. And yet, many people still use WhatsApp to share photos and even PDF files because it is easy to do so. Simply open the chat with whom you want to share and attach it away. The max file size is capped at 16MB which equates to something between 90 seconds and 3 minutes of video.
WhatsApp communities increase the file size dramatically to 2GB which should be more than enough for most users. You can share images and most videos in high resolution. No more worrying about WhatsApp compressing your pixel-perfect selfies and videos.
3. Create Polls in Communities
One of the fastest and best ways to decide on where to eat or what to binge-watch together is by creating quick polls. Yup. You can create polls inside WhatsApp communities and collect feedback on questions that matter to the group. Creating a poll is easy.
Simply tap on the plus icon and select Polls from the menu.
Now enter the question with multiple choice answers in the respective fields by tapping to select them. Finally, when done, tap on Send button to share the poll in WhatsApp community.
Users can vote, and the results will be shown in real-time. Note that there is no way to set a time limit as of now. Probably the best WhatsApp community feature that I like.
4. Emoji Reaction
Here’s another WhatsApp community feature. Messaging apps like Discord allow users to react to a message using emojis. This adds another dimension to the chatting experience. WhatsApp is late to the game but has finally delivered. You can now react to messages with emojis. While there are only 6 default emojis to choose from, you can tap on the plus icon to open a hidden keyboard where you will find more.
There is a search bar that makes it easier to search for the right emoji.
5. Upto 32 People Video Calling
WhatsApp groups that are part of a community can make a video call with up to 32 people. Simply tap on the video call option in the group info menu. If the group has less than 32 participants, you can directly call all of them at once.
However, if the group has more than 32 people in it, you will be asked to manually select the ones that you want to add to the video call.
6. Admin Powers
The creator of the WhatsApp community is also the admin of the community. However, he can appoint more members as admins from the groups to help with day-to-day management. However, none of them can remove the creator as the admin but he/she can remove any of them at any time.
Moreover, admins, any admin, and not just the creator have superpowers. Admins can add and remove members from a group. They can also delete messages sent by other members if they feel the message violates group norms or are abusive or inappropriate in nature.
Finally, admins can create new groups within the community or even add existing groups to the community. This is probably the most unique and important WhatsApp communities features.
7. Announcement Group
Another important WhatsApp communities feature. Every time you create a new community in WhatsApp, an announcement group is created automatically. So what is the purpose of the group, you ask? Well, as the name suggests, this group is used to make important announcements and send alerts to members of all the groups that are part of the community. A common group, if you will.
It is denoted by a distinctive blue icon and at the time of writing this guide, can hold up to 5000 members only. So it is not meant for all group members it seems. Maybe WhatsApp will either increase the announcement group limit or offer some clarity around it.
WhatsApp Communities Features
These are some of the most important features of WhatsApp communities. Some of them are truly unique and new to the WhatsApp ecosystem like an announcement group and creator/admin powers. However, there are certain things that aren’t exactly clear.
As a creator of a WhatsApp community, do you know how to manage other admins? We have an in-depth guide on how to add, remove, and manage community admins and what they can and cannot do in your community.
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