Signal is one of the messaging apps that hugely benefited from the WhatsApp privacy kerfuffle. The past months saw them getting a swarm of new users seeking to escape WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. So it seems like a good time to try out a new feature that new users would appreciate. Their latest beta version has a new feature called “announcement groups” which works similarly to other messaging apps’ broadcast groups. WhatsApp and Telegram already have similar features so it’s only apt that Signal will bring something similar for their users.
Android Police says that Signal version 5.22 has a new thing called “announcement groups” that lets you create groups but admins are the only ones allowed to “talk”. It’s just like creating a regular group but you get to disable permissions for non-admins to send messages. Basically what you just get is an announcement group that you can use for a group that you don’t need to interact with the members. Group calls are supported although we’re not sure if non-admins will be allowed to talk, similar to Telegram’s.
Other apps like WhatsApp and Telegram already have similar functions so Signal is playing catch-up. Signal is pretty popular for users who prioritize privacy and security when it comes to their messaging app. But it would also be nice to have some robust features aside from end-to-end encryption. Telegram is the other popular messaging app when it comes to privacy and every month they release a lot of new things while still maintaining encryption and other privacy tools.
For Signal this seems to be still a beta test for now so you have to join the beta program first if you want to check out announcement groups. The beta update doesn’t seem to be available in the Google Play Store just yet. There doesn’t seem to be any other new things that will come with this new feature unless we get a changelog with other details soon, either in the beta update or in the stable update that we can expect later on.
If you want to try the Signal announcement groups already, you can get it through Firebase App Delivery or the APK from APKMirror. But if you want to wait for the stable version, then as you were.
