I use WhatsApp on iPhone. I received a notification from WhatsApp this morning. The notification says, "Top channels on WhatsApp. Follow updates from Real Madrid C.F., Netflix, Shakira and more." Please see Figure 1 showing a screenshot of this notification.
I have not followed any of the channels mentioned in the notification. Furthermore, I have not followed any channels whatsoever in WhatsApp. Therefore I consider this notification an advertisement enticing me to subscribe to channels in WhatsApp which will will then send further notifications. I prefer to minimize the number of notifications on my phone so I can focus on work and life. I still want to receive notifications of text messages to me from friends via WhatsApp.
I navigated to the notification settings in WhatsApp via WhatsApp –> Settings –> Notifications. These settings provide options to disable notifications for messages and groups. But they do not provide an option to disable notifications from channels to which I have not subscribed. Please see Figure 2 showing a screenshot of the notification settings in WhatsApp.
I navigated to the notifications settings in iOS via Settings –> Notifications –> Notification Style –> WhatsApp. These settings provide the option to disable notifications from WhatsApp entirely. But I want to continue to receive notifications of text messages from friends to me via WhatsApp. These settings to not provide an option to disable notifications from channels specifically. Please see Figure 3 showing a screenshot of the notification settings in iOS.
I searched in the Help Center for WhatsApp, and I found two related articles: "How to manage Channels notifications" and "How to manage your notifications." The former article explains how to disable notifications for channels to which I have subscribed. It does not explain how to disable notifications for channels to which I have not subscribed. The latter article explains how to disable notifications for messages, groups, and calls. It does not explain how to disable notifications for channels.
Figure 1: Screenshot of notification from WhatsApp
Figure 2: Screenshot of notification settings in WhatsApp
Figure 3: Screenshot of notification settings in iOS
