-WhatsApp Channels will first be available in Colombia and Singapore. It will gradually be available in more countries, including India, over the coming months
-Meta is planning to roll out verified service on the web in the coming months at a subscription price of Rs 599 per month
New Delhi, NFAPost: Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced WhatsApp Channels, a one-way broadcast tool for administrators to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls. WhatsApp Channels will first be available in Colombia and Singapore. It will gradually be available in more countries, including India, over the coming months.
Zuckerberg said WhatsApp Channels is a simple, reliable, and private way to receive important updates from people and organisations, right within WhatsApp. Explaining how it would work, Zuckerberg said Channels would be available in a new tab called Updates on WhatsApp. It is where you will find status and channels you choose to follow – separate from your chats with family, friends, and communities.
WhatsApp is building a searchable directory where users can Channels related to their hobbies, sports teams, updates from local officials, and more. Channel admin can invite people to follow through invite links sent in chats, e-mail, or posted online.
Zuckerberg said personal information such as channel admin’s phone number will not be shown to followers, and following a channel will not show that to the admin or others following the channel either. Channel updates will be available for 30 days with no permanent record. The company said it would add more ways in the future to make updates disappear faster from follower’s devices. Administrators will get the option to block screenshots and forwards from their channel.
The channels will not be end-to-end encrypted by default but there is a possibility of end-to-end encrypted channels to a limited number of followers in the future, the company said.
It will be up to the admins to pick who can subscribe to their channel and whether they want their channel to be discoverable in the directory or not, Meta added.
A payment service could be added to these channels in the future. Some channels can also be promoted on the app by the company.
Meta rolls out verified account
Social media giant Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has started verified service in India at a monthly subscription price of Rs 699 for mobile apps, the company said on Wednesday.
Meta is planning to roll out verified service on the web in the coming months at a subscription price of Rs 599 per month.
“Meta Verified is available for direct purchase on Instagram or Facebook in India starting today. People can purchase a monthly subscription for Rs 699 on iOS and Android. In the coming months, we’ll also introduce a web purchase option for Rs 599 a month,” the company said in a statement.
For a verified account subscription, Facebook and Instagram users will need to verify their account with a government ID. The verified account will provide impersonation protections and account support.
“We’re expanding our test of Meta Verified to India after seeing good results from our early testing in several countries globally. We’ll also continue honouring verified badges that were granted previously based on existing criteria,” Meta said.
To be eligible, accounts must meet minimum activity requirements, such as prior posting history and applicants must be at least 18 years old.
Applicants are then required to submit a government ID that matches the profile name and photo of the Facebook or Instagram account they are applying for.
“We want to make it easier for creators to establish a presence so they can focus on building their communities on Instagram or Facebook. As we continue to expand and evolve Meta Verified globally, there will also be no changes to accounts that were previously verified, ” Meta said.
Social media platform Twitter was the first entity to start charging a monthly subscription for a verified account.
The company rolled out the Twitter Blue subscription service early this year at a monthly fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices to maintain their verification status.
