Facebook Inc. seems to be working on a new Community feature for the popular messaging platform WhatsApp. The unreleased feature was mentioned in numerous strings of code found recently by XDA-Developers after a teardown of WhatsApp beta v2.21.21.6.
The code suggests that the Community feature might be separate from the existing WhatsApp Groups, though it's not explained exactly how. Nevertheless, there are numerous strings of code that seem to be determining the behavior of WhatsApp when users interact with the Community feature. QR codes for joining communities are mentioned, and community managers would supposedly be able to invite new members through invite links.
WhatsApp Community could replace Groups or co-exist
It's not clear if this mysterious Community feature was thought out as a replacement for the existing WhatsApp Groups. Strings of code suggest that Communities could co-exist alongside Groups; though, on the other hand, it is possible that WhatsApp plans to improve Groups later down the line and rename the system into something called “Community.”
There's also the possibility that these early strings of code will remain there, hidden inside WhatsApp for years to come. There's no guarantee that the Community feature will be coming anytime soon, or at all, but it's definitely something with which Facebook software engineers have experimented. Either way, we'll keep you up to speed as soon as Facebook's plans in this regard become clearer.
For the time being, most users are happy to be able to use WhatsApp once again after last week's blackout.
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