WhatsApp to double Group participants limit to 1,024
WhatsApp Groups are about to become even bigger. Capped at 256 members for the longest time, the participant limits of the Groups have been seeing some "doubling efforts" recently. According to WABetaInfo, the company has started rolling out the ability to add up to 1,024 participants in Groups. The feature is only available to a select number of beta testers as of now.
Why does this story matter?
WhatsApp has been trying to make the jump from an individual-focused messaging platform to one that is ideal for individuals and large groups alike. The new Communities feature and the increase in the limit of participants are all focused on that. Evidently, WhatsApp wants to challenge Telegram. But that's a bit far-fetched, considering Telegram allows up to 200,000 people in the same chat.
Feature is being rolled out to iOS, Android beta testers
WhatsApp Groups with 1,024 participants! No, this isn't a dream. The Meta-owned platform is rolling out the increased limit feature to an undefined number of beta testers on iOS and Android. To check whether you have the feature or not, try to create a new Group or add more participants to an existing one. Here, you will see the available limit for your account.
WhatsApp has been focusing a lot on Communities
It was only in June that WhatsApp increased the number of participants in a Group from 256 to 512. Therefore, one might wonder, why the sudden change? The platform has been focusing more on Communities and the sub-groups within them these days. The ability to add more participants to Groups will only enhance this functionality.
Pending participants will let admins see joining requests
The changes to Groups do not end there. Another new feature in the works is called "Pending Participants." This feature will let Group admins see all the newcomers who wish to join a Group. They will be able to approve the joining requests whenever they deem fit. The feature is still under development, so it is not available even for beta testers.
