WhatsApp Channels launched in India: Here's how to use it and follow your favourite celebs

WhatsApp Channels launched in India: Meta has launched WhatsApp Channels in over 150 countries, including India. According to the company, this will be a private way to receive updates that matter to users. The announcement was made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It is worth mentioning that WhatsApp Channels are separate from chats and the good thing is that who you choose to follow is not visible to other followers. Also, the instant messaging app claimed that it would protect the personal information of both admins and followers.

With Channels, WhatsApp’s goal is to build the most private broadcast service available. Celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, Vijay Deverakonda, Diljit Dosanjh, Neha Kakkar and several others have already launched their WhatsApp Channels.
 
“Excited to introduce you all to WhatsApp Channels, a new private way for you to get updates from people and organizations you follow. I'm starting this channel to share Meta news and updates. Looking forward to connecting with you all around the world,” 
said Zuckerberg. 

WhatsApp Channels launched in India: Step-by-step guide to use 

Channels can be found in a new tab called Updates and under this users can find the Status and channels they they want to follow. 

How to use WhatsApp Channels

Step 1: First and the most important thing is to update your WhatsApp app to the latest version. The feature is available for both Android and iOS users.

Step 2: Open WhatsApp and tap on the Updates tab available at the bottom of the screen. A list of channels that you can follow.

Step 3: To follow a channel, tap on the ‘+’ button next to its name. To view the profile and description, you can simply tap on the channel name.

Step 4: To add a reaction to a channel update, press and hold on to the message.

As WhatsApp Channels is being made available globally, here are the latest updates being introduced:

Enhanced Directory - You can now find channels to follow that are automatically filtered based on your country. You can also view channels that are new, most active, and popular based on the number of followers.

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Reactions - You can react using emojis to give feedback and see a count of total reactions. How you react will not be shown to followers. 

Editing - Soon, admins will be able to make changes to their Updates for up to 30 days, when we automatically delete them from our servers. 

Forwarding - Whenever you forward an Update to chats or groups it will include a link back to the channel so people can find out more.