WhatsApp’s new feature lets you plan your next event

WhatsApp is adding a new way to plan and organize events in group messages, making it easier for friends and organizations like schools and neighborhoods to set up virtual and in-person meetings.

The new events feature lets members of a group set up birthday parties, work meetings, and more, similar to various e-vite services that send out invitations via email. New WhatsApp events get pinned to a group’s information page and also get their own group chat thread so everyone can see who is down, hear out inevitable excuses for those who can’t make it, and confirm who is bringing cookies.

WhatsApp is additionally adding the ability to reply to “Announcement Groups” so members can add comments and feedback for the admin. It also keeps the replies minimized and the chat muted so that people have the option to read and participate in the discussion without inundating others with notifications.

The events feature will first show up for groups within WhatsApp Communities, then to all groups in the coming months. WhatsApp Communities is the chat app’s Slack or Discord-like feature that has its own message threads, group admins, and announcement functions. It also takes advantage of WhatsApp’s 32-person video calling capabilities that invite users to jump in instead of ringing everyone.