WhatsApp now lets users plan and schedule events in Communities

WhatsApp is introducing a new way for people to organize events in Communities, the company announced on Wednesday. The feature makes it easier to plan get-togethers and events directly in WhatsApp, whether it’s setting up a PTA meeting or a birthday dinner.

Anyone can create an event that others can respond to, so everyone else in the group can see who is planning to attend. Users can find the event in the group’s information page, and those who are going to the event will get a notification when the event date nears.

The new feature is first becoming available to groups that belong to a Community and will roll out to all groups over the coming months.

WhatsApp is also adding the ability for users to reply to messages in Announcement Groups, which is where admins in a Community send updates to all community members. Replies are grouped together so you can see what other people have said, and users won’t get notifications for them. The purpose of this feature is to allow admins to hear from their members, while still keeping Announcement Groups organized and free of clutter.

WhatsApp launched Communities back in November 2022 as a way for neighborhoods, school associations, hobbyists and more to keep groups connected by letting admins combine up to 50 groups together. The company says it will continue to roll out new features to Communities and groups over the next few months.