WhatsApp will have verified accounts soon for businesses with a gren tick next to them.
WhatsApp will soon have a verified account with green ticks for businesses, and the company has confirmed this in a new blogpost. The WhatsApp Verified account will have a green tick next to it, just like verified accounts on Facebook, Twitter have a blue tick next to them. WhatsApp’s new feature will be rolling out soon, and the company has also put out a detailed blogpost explaining this.
The blogpost reads, “WhatsApp is exploring ways for you to communicate with the businesses that matter to you. Some business accounts have been verified by WhatsApp. If you see a green badge next to a contact’s name, it means that WhatsApp has confirmed that the phone number of this contact belongs to a business account.” WhatsApp also has an FAQ in Hindi for the same, and the company notes the verification process is limited to a small number of enterprises, which are taking part in the pilot program.
So how will you know that the WhatsApp account is verified as a business one? WhatsApp says it will let users know about this when they “start talking to a business via yellow messages inside a chat.” Also WhatsApp says users will not have the option of deleting these messages from inside the chat with a verified business.
If a user has saved the phone number in their address book already, they will see the same name reflected in the chat. But if they don’t have the name saved, then it will reflect the name the business has chosen. WhatsApp will also give users the option of blocking these businesses if a user doesn’t wish to connect with them anymore.
Another post on WABetaInfo says WhatsApp beta build 2.17.285 brings the new verification feature. However, it won’t be visible to everyone. The website has also put out a screenshot of what the verified account of WhatsApp looks like on the app. WhatsApp appears with the Green Tick next to it, has contact details and the address of the office are also listed on it.
WhatsApp Verified feature as spotted by WABetaInfo. (Image source: WABetaInfo)
WhatsApp has already confirmed that it will work on bringing businesses to the app, and essentially users will soon be able to interact with their bank, airline, etc from the app itself. The new feature means WhatsApp could strengthen itself against SMS further, especially in a market like India where it has 200 million monthly active users already.
