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About safety and privacy on channels
WhatsApp Channels help people get information they care about in a way that is private and secure.
There are controls in place to protect the privacy of channel followers, viewers and admins.
Please note, if you choose to become a channel admin, you’ll be visible to other admins within the channel you manage, even if they aren’t already contacts. Learn more about safety and privacy for channel admins here.
When you’re a channel follower or viewer (and not an admin of a channel):
- You’re not visible to people viewing a channel, including other channel followers, and they can’t see how you interact with channel content. They can’t see your name, phone number, profile picture, reactions to channel content, or how you vote on polls (except admins, see more below).
- Your contacts can’t see which channels you follow or how you interact with channel content (unless they are an admin of a channel you follow).
Your profile and channel interaction information may be visible to channel admins, but admins who aren’t contacts only see limited information (unless you choose to become a channel admin):
- Admins who aren’t contacts may see your profile picture and how you interact with their channel content. Admins can’t see your full phone number or profile name unless they have you saved as a contact.
- Channel admins who’re also contacts can see all parts of your profile like your name, full phone number, and profile photo.
Channel updates are kept in a separate tab from your chats. As always, your personal messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted. No one else, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them.
Channel admins are responsible for maintaining an age-appropriate and safe experience for their followers. Anyone can report problematic content - whether they’re a follower or not. If you think a channel is sharing problematic content or spam, report it.
WhatsApp uses a combination of automated tools, manual review and user reports to detect potentially problematic content and reserves the right to take action on violating channels. Read more about the standards we have to keep channels safe in the WhatsApp Channel Guidelines.
Note:
- WhatsApp Channels has begun rolling out but isn’t available to everyone yet. Join the waitlist to be notified when WhatsApp Channels is available to you.
- Where channels is available, we’re rolling out new features gradually. Some features, like being able to create a channel, might not be available to you yet.
