# WhatsApp Channels

WhatsApp Channels are a one-to-many broadcast feature in the Updates tab, where admins post to an unlimited audience of followers who can react and vote but not reply.

Source: https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/whatsapp-channels  
Last updated: 2026-10-08

This page defines the term. The [WhatsApp Channels guide](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-channels-feature-guide) covers how to create a channel, grow it and use it for a brand.

Channels live outside the chat list, in the Updates tab. Followers are invisible to each other, their phone numbers stay hidden from the admin, and the flow is strictly one-way: posts, reactions, and polls, but no replies or threads.

A channel complements rather than replaces opted-in marketing on the API: it cannot segment, personalize, or converse.

## Go deeper: articles

- [WhatsApp Channels: List, Link and Business Guide (2026)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-channels-feature-guide): WhatsApp Channels for business: find the channels list, create a channel, share its link, read its insights, and compare Channels with newsletters.
- [WhatsApp Newsletter: How to Send One (Channel, List or API)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-newsletter-guide): Send a WhatsApp newsletter through a Channel, a broadcast list (256 contacts) or the Business Platform: costs, Meta's opt-in rules and 8 templates.
- [WhatsApp Broadcast: Lists, Limits and 6 Message Samples](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-broadcast-guide): WhatsApp broadcast lists hold 256 contacts, and some countries now cap the app at 35 free broadcasts a month. 6 message samples and how stores go past it.

## Related terms

- [WhatsApp Communities](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/whatsapp-communities)
- [Opt-in](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/opt-in)