WhatsApp to roll out ‘Events’ to streamline group chats, here’s how to use it

WhatsApp is likely to unveil its Events feature, aimed at streamlining the process of organising meetings, gatherings, or activities within WhatsApp chats. Previously, this feature was only available in WhatsApp communities, but it can now be availed in regular WhatsApp groups. According to a report, the latest update brings a range of features enabling users to create interactive invitation messages, akin to a calendar invite. It also provides an option for group members to respond to the message, confirming their attendance. 

Further, the responses coming from other members can only be viewed inside the interactive message, which effectively gives a decluttered experience, letting users track the response in a simplified way. Additionally, the invitation message can also be pinned in the chat, as claimed by WhatsApp. The report adds, “Through this enhancement, community members can create and manage activities directly within their group chats, enhancing the organization of events like online meetings or social gatherings”.

The feature was rolled out with the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.9.20 update. However, as part of a wider release, it will soon be available to other users worldwide. The reports also suggest that initially, it is expected to be integrated with the WhatsApp app, followed by WhatsApp Business. 

The Event feature by Meta-owned WhatsApp will let users create event reminders by entering basic details such as name, date, location, event description(not exceeding 2,048 characters), and details about the call, among others. Other members of the group will have the option of either accepting or rejecting the Event invitation. Notably, only the participants will have access to event details. 

WhatsApp seems to have meticulously taken care of the privacy aspects as the events will be secured with end-to-end encryption, bolstering users’ confidentiality and privacy.

In other news pertaining to WhatsApp, it has started evaluating a new In-App Dialer feature, which seeks to streamline the way users have been placing calls via WhatsApp Messenger. This upgrade was seen in WhatsApp beta’s recent update for Android version 2.24.13.17 and is currently availed by a limited number of beta testers.