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Starting today, WhatsApp users in Malaysia get early access to the much anticipated Communities feature ahead of the global rollout. Communities will become available gradually over the next few weeks to everyone using WhatsApp in Malaysia. With this feature, people can bring together separate WhatsApp Groups under one umbrella, making it easier for them to share information and organize themselves.
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| User interface for WhatsApp Communities |
Communities introduces powerful new tools for administrators (admins). These include control over which Groups can be included in a Community, and the option to start smaller discussion Groups about topics that matter most to members. Community admins can also send announcements to all members through an announcement Group. Additionally, only admins can add members to a Community or send an invite link, and will have the ability to remove members where needed. We believe that all conversations on WhatsApp — one-to-one, in Groups or Communities — are inherently private. Which is why all messages on WhatsApp — including in Communities — are protected with end-to-end encryption.
Many communities in Malaysia that are part of our daily lives already use WhatsApp Groups to communicate and organise themselves. This includes schools, volunteer organizations, neighborhoods, and even small to medium sized businesses.
Rafidah Ahmad from Gabungan Anak-Anak Palsi Serebrum (GAPS), a non-profit for the cerebral palsy community in Malaysia, says, "Our committee members, admins and members already interact actively on WhatsApp. We feel that the new Communities feature will make interactions more efficient: for members involved in several programmes and projects over multiple WhatsApp groups, which can get cluttered and confusing. Streamlining communications among our members will also help everyone stay updated on what’s most important."
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| User journey for creating and inviting to WhatsApp Communities |
Daniel Cerventus from Entrepreneurs and Startups in Malaysia, says,"Currently, we use WhatsApp for a lot of planning and coordination. We set up different Groups for different purposes, such as our recent trip to Singapore, planning committees as well as support groups for various needs. I think the idea of having a unified Community with sub-groups will allow us to have more efficient discussion with the rest of the community."
