WhatsApp developing newsletter feature

WhatsApp is developing a new feature that will allow users to create and receive newsletters in the same way that bulk email providers do.

WABetaInfo discovered code in the mobile app pointing to a “Newsletter” function.

The magazine deduced from its study of the code that it was a one-to-many mechanism for disseminating information.

It looks to be designed for rapidly and simply distributing valuable information to people and groups who share same interests, such as neighbours, sports teams, or other organisations.

According to WABetaInfo, the functionality will not be secured by end-to-end encryption because it will be possible to reach an unspecified and significant number of users.

Nevertheless, it contended that because a newsletter function employs one-way, one-to-many communication, end-to-end encryption provided no practical privacy benefit to consumers.

Users who produce and subscribe to newsletters will always have their phone numbers disguised and concealed to safeguard their identity.

The present code indicates Newsletter will be a separate option under the Status tab, according to WABetaInfo.

Readers will be able to subscribe to a newsletter by searching for its name with a certain handle.

Users will also be able to choose which newsletters to subscribe to, and other users will be unable to see which newsletters they get.

While WhatsApp’s Communities groups feature allowed for bulk communications comparable to a newsletter system, it had significant restrictions, according to WABetaInfo.

Among these are the following: Communities are restricted to 5,000 people, the phone number of the message originator is accessible to everyone, and the list of participants is visible to the sender.

“Newsletters break all these limitations by masking phone numbers, and we believe it will be the perfect tool to connect with an audience,” said WABetaInfo.

It was observed that “Newsletter” might be a placeholder term for the functionality, which could change if Meta sends it out to WhatsApp beta and stable versions.