The Founder and CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, on Wednesday announced that WhatsApp Channels has now exceeded a monthly active user base of 500 million.
“500 million monthly activities on WhatsApp Channels in the first 7 weeks! Great to see the WA community so engaged,” said Mark Zuckerberg, while announcing the news on his WhatsApp Channel.
Recently launched as a feature on WhatsApp, channels allow users to get updates from people, organisations, and teams that they follow on the messaging platform.
Channels are separate from private chats, and who users choose to follow is not visible to other followers.
Some popular Indian WhatsApp channels include the International Cricket Council, Mumbai Indians, Indian Cricket Team, Diljit Dosanjh, Katrina Kaif, Allu Arjun, Vijay Deverakonda, Chef Ranveer Brar, and TechBurner among others.
“My WhatsApp Channel is where I communicate with my fans in a personal and authentic way…it feels like I’m connecting with them, sharing the most important moments of my life with them, just like I would with my friends and family back home. Whether it’s my new song, an exciting collaboration, or just a good morning message, WhatsApp Channels is where I express myself and feel closer to my community of fans,” said Indian celebrity singer Diljit Dosanjh.
Meta had announced WhatsApp channels in September this year. It has recently added a sticker feature to the channels.
Earlier this week, the Meta-owned Messaging Platform also announced a new voice chat feature for large groups. The feature is similar to a group call but, instead of ringing each member, allows people to join in quietly with an in-chat popup notification.