In the past, WhatsApp was a simple yet powerful messaging service. But in recent years, Meta-owned WhatsApp has added several features.Some might describe them as spammy or confusing, to say the least. One such feature is WhatsApp channels. You may be wondering what the difference is between a WhatsApp channel, group, and community. Find the answer in this comparison post on WhatsApp channels vs. communities vs. groups.
All three features essentially offer one-to-many messaging services, but there are significant differences in privacy, sharing, and other features. For example, member privacy is hidden in channels, but this is not the case in groups. Let's examine the differences in detail.
WhatsApp Channel vs. Community vs. Groups: The Key Difference
Regular WhatsApp conversations involve only two people. If you want to interact with multiple people at once, this is where WhatsApp groups come into the picture. Groups offer multi-user conversations. All group members can interact with each other.
A community is simply a collection of related WhatsApp groups. If you're an administrator for multiple similar groups, you can group them into a community. Let's say you have a group for each class in your school. A community provides a space to put these multiple groups in one place. It becomes easier for the community creator to find Similar groups and their management.
On the other hand, WhatsApp channels offer one-to-many messaging. This means that only the channel creator can send messages to the channel. Learn how. Using WhatsApp channels.
Tip: Get to know The difference between WhatsApp community and groups.
Management and Interaction
Every WhatsApp group has at least one admin. All group members can interact within the group. This means that, in addition to the admin, other members can send messages. However, there are also restricted WhatsApp groups where only the admin can send messages.
When it comes toWhatsApp CommunityMembers can interact within the group they are part of. However, there is also an announcement group, which is automatically created once a community is created. Every member is automatically added to this group. Only the community administrator can post messages in the announcement group.
There is also another automatically created group known as Public (currently in beta only), where members from all groups can interact with each other.
On the other hand, in WhatsApp channels Only the admin can send messages. Recipients or followers can reply to messages using emojis only.
Tip: Get to know The difference between WhatsApp and Telegram channels.
Availability
WhatsApp groups and channels are available on both regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business. However, communities are limited to regular WhatsApp only. You cannot create a community on WhatsApp Business.
Where to find them on WhatsApp
Groups are located in the main chat list in WhatsApp. There's no separate section for them. On the other hand, you have a separate Community tab where you can see all your communities and the groups within the community. When you receive a message in any of the community groups, it will also appear in the main chat tab.
Like communities, channels also have a dedicated section. You'll find them in the Updates tab under Status. However, messages received in WhatsApp channels don't appear in the Chats tab. You'll have to access them from the Updates tab itself.
Content type
You can share all types of content in groups and communities. This includes text, links, images, video, audio, documents, polls, payments, and location. WhatsApp Channels, on the other hand, only support text, images, video, and links.
Tip: Learn how to Send instant video messages On WhatsApp.
number of participants
Each WhatsApp group can have up to 1024 members. Each community can have up to 5000 members. You can add up to 100 groups to a community. For WhatsApp channels, there is no upper limit on the number of users who can follow a channel.
Number of supervisors
You can add multiple admins to groups and communities in WhatsApp. However, a WhatsApp channel can only have one admin.
Note: An admin can own multiple channels, groups, or communities.
Member Privacy
Privacy is one of the key areas where WhatsApp groups and channels differ. In a group, in addition to admins, every member can view the phone numbers of all other group members. Although the member may not know who the number belongs to, they can see it.
On the other hand, neither the WhatsApp channel administrator nor its followers can see other users. They can only see the total number of followers.
In communities, members can see other members within the group, but not outside. However, members cannot see participants in an ad group. Only the administrator can see them.
Tip: Get to know Different ways to hide WhatsApp chats.
Moderators' Privacy
In groups and communities, members can see who is the admin or creator. On the other hand, the identity of a channel admin remains private. That is, members cannot see the admin. They will only see the channel name.
If you're an admin of multiple WhatsApp groups, members of any of your groups won't be able to see the other groups you manage. Essentially, your other groups are private. The same applies to WhatsApp channels. Followers won't know about other channels the admin owns.
When it comes to communities, members can see other groups that are part of the community in addition to the groups they have joined. They can request to join a group from within the community. However, again, members cannot see other communities that belong to the community administrator.
Tip: Get to know The difference between WhatsApp groups and broadcast lists
Notices
WhatsApp channels are muted by default. You need to unmute a channel if you want to receive its notifications. You cannot set custom ringtones for channels.
On the other hand, although communities and groups are not muted by default, you can mute them. You can also Set custom notification tones for them.
Lifetime for messages
In both WhatsApp groups and communities, messages will remain until manually deleted by the admin or other members. Messages sent in channels, on the other hand, will be automatically deleted after 30 days.
hidden messages
The ability to Send disappearing messages Available for both WhatsApp groups and communities. However, you won't find this feature in channels. This is because messages will be deleted within 30 days.
Add or auto-invite
Anyone who knows your WhatsApp number can add you to WhatsApp groups or communities. Fortunately, WhatsApp now has a feature Control who can add you to groupsOn the other hand, no one can automatically add you to a WhatsApp channel. You need to join channels manually using links.
Communication function
Support groups Voice and video calls on WhatsAppHowever, you can only add up to 32 people in group video calls. Channels in WhatsApp do not support the calling feature. In the case of WhatsApp Communities, you can make calls within each group. You can also make calls with other members of the newly introduced public group.
Tip: Get to know How to create WhatsApp call links
Engage in WhatsApp
We hope you understand the differences between a WhatsApp channel, community, and group. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Which one do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below.
