WhatsApp channels cross 500 million monthly active users mark: Zuckerberg

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that WhatsApp channels have now surpassed 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 involved,” said Mark Zuckerberg as he announced the news on his WhatsApp channel.

Recently launched as a feature on WhatsApp, channels allow users to get updates from people, organizations and teams 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 International Cricket Council, Mumbai Indians, Indian Cricket Team, Diljit Dosanjh, Katrina Kaif, Allu Arjun, Vijay Deverakonda, Chef Ranveer Brar and TechBurner.

“On my WhatsApp channel I communicate with my fans in a personal and authentic way. I feel like I’m connecting with them and sharing the most important moments of my life with them, just like I would with my friends and family back home. Be it my new song, an exciting collaboration or just a good morning message, WhatsApp channels allow me to 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 recently added a sticker feature to its channels.

Earlier this week, Meta’s Messaging Platform also announced a new voice chat feature for large groups. The feature is similar to a group call, but instead of calling each member, people can join in quietly with a pop-up notification in the chat.