WhatsApp is rolling out changes to Events that let invitees without a WhatsApp account view event details and RSVP through a shared link, without installing the app. The update also introduces Events Home, where users can create invitations and keep track of responses for the gatherings they are organizing. Meta says the rollout will reach everyone over the coming weeks, so access to the updated features will expand gradually.
An organizer can create an event, choose a cover image and distribute its link to prospective guests, including people who do not use WhatsApp. The invitation gives those recipients a way to check the details and respond without first becoming WhatsApp users themselves. For guests without accounts, however, the event address becomes visible only after they have submitted an RSVP.
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The update includes custom reminders and an option to bring a plus one, giving organizers additional ways to coordinate attendance before a meetup. Events Home also supports customized invitations and brings RSVP management into the same area used to create and send them. Meta describes the changes as a response to people wanting one place to arrange gatherings and invite friends who are outside WhatsApp.
Users can find the event area by opening Settings and choosing Events, which displays both earlier gatherings and those still ahead. That view includes events a user has organized as well as invitations they have received from others.
Meta says invitations conceal a user's phone number from guests they do not know, alongside the RSVP requirement for revealing addresses to people without accounts. The company also says personal conversations and calls continue to receive end-to-end encryption as the updated Events features roll out.
The expansion follows October's introduction of WhatsApp guest calling, which allowed people without accounts to join browser calls accommodating up to 32 participants. Those calls required a registered user to create the invitation link, and hosts had to approve each guest before admission. Guests could share their computer screens and use emoji reactions, but they could neither send messages nor see other participants' phone numbers.
