WhatsApp has been working on the group events features from some time when it was initially spotted by WaBetaInfo. It's been 4+ months since it has been spotted and there have been a lot of things changed since then as WhatsApp continues to make changes to the event creation feature. I am going to share what has changed in these months. Before I dive into the details here are some useful purpose of the event creation feature (in short) -
- Schedule video/audio calls in groups/communities for discussion about anything like a meeting or just getting in touch with various family members.
- Schedule other plans such as going to somewhere on a trip with family or hundreds of other purposes with location and list of attendees.
- Can be used for reminder purpose in groups chats/communities.
1. It's not limited to groups in communities only
Initially it was said (vaguely) that the event creation feature may be available to groups in communities only. From what I could see in the internal digging and enabling the feature myself, events can be created in standalone groups as well, having the group in a community is not necessary. Here is a screenshot of the event creation option in a standalone group -
2. It's not just video calls
When the event feature was initially spotted, the screenshot shared by WaBetaInfo showed that only video calls can be scheduled in the event. WhatsApp now has added the option to create voice calls. Turning on the "Whatsapp call link" will show a dialogue where you can choose between a video and voice call. This is a great way to schedule both types of calls. WhatsApp was spotted working on a "Schedule call" feature previous year but as far as I know, I don't have the feature myself and was never rolled out.
3. Edit an event, because the plans have changed
There are always chances of things getting changed after we create an event, like a date or location. The edit event option will allow you to make whatever changes you want in an already created event. You can change the title, description, date, location and other things. Once edited, all attendees of the event will be notified of the event update. You will also see an "edited" text, just like when we edit messages in WhatsApp. Only the person who created the event will be able to edit it.
4. See all events in group info
There may be various events created by different people in groups and may be scattered here and there in the group and may be hard to find or you have to scroll up and down to find it. So the solution is that all the events which are created in the group will appear in the group information page in a horizontal sliding way. There is an additional "Upcoming" button, tapping on which opens a new page with a list of all events showing them in ascending order based on the date of the event.
5. Users can respond to events if they want to join
What's the point of event creation if people can't even respond to an event if they are going to join it, right? WhatsApp will allow you to join events. The event will show the number of people who are going to the event and additionally if you tap the event card, it will also show the names of people who will be joining and who haven't responded to the event joining.
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6. Get reminders for events and add events to calendar
WhatsApp is going to fully utilize the "Alarms & reminders" permission of Android to send reminders of the event to attendees. You have to grant this permission only once. It asked me to grant permission when I created the event for the first time. Once the permission is granted you will likely be reminded of the event at the time which is set in the event. I tried to test the feature but it seems like it's still work in progress and WhatsApp didn't send me any notification or reminder. The other thing is that you can add these events to your device's calendar app as well. The event detail page shows the "add to calendar" option just below the date. Additional things include a "view on map" link if you set an event location and option to copy video/voice calls link.
7. No one likes cancelling plans, but it happens
You will have the option to cancel an event as well. You will see the "Cancel event" in the red text in the event detail page. It will confirm if you want to cancel it and once confirmed the event will show up as "Event cancelled" in the group chat.
So basically this is everything I have noticed which wasn't shared before about the event creation feature of WhatsApp. There could be more changes before it's released but from we could see, this is everything a user need. As a bonus I am attaching a video of the feature to give a closer look at the event creation process and other things -
Well, that's all about it. For more such leaks you can join my telegram channel - Gapps Flags & Leaks or follow me on Twitter/X
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