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WhatsApp is challenging Twitter by allowing users to broadcast messages to large numbers of followers, in a departure from its private messaging roots.
The Meta-owned app has announced a feature called Channels that will let users subscribe to updates from celebrities, organisations and regular users.
The one-way feed will allow channel owners to post text, photos, videos and polls to followers.
The feature will be seen as an alternative to Twitter, which has long been used by public figures to post real-time updates to legions of fans or by organisations to broadcast crucial updates.
Several high-profile figures such as Elton John and Whoopi Goldberg have left Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk's $44bn (£35bn) takeover of the social network. WhatsApp has 2bn users, around 10 times the number that Twitter reported before it was acquired by Mr Musk.
The World Health Organisation and football clubs Manchester City and Barcelona are among those that have signed up to use the feature. It will launch first in Colombia and Singapore before expanding to other countries.
Users will not need an account's phone number to sign up, and messages will disappear after 30 days. However, unlike the app's messaging service, posts will not be protected by end-to-end encryption.
The new feature could see WhatsApp face new pressure if accounts with large followings post illegal or inflammatory content. The app has largely focused on individual conversations and group chats but the channels feature will bring it closer to other social media apps. However, it insisted that private messages would remain the app's priority.
Users will be able to search for channels in a central directory. WhatsApp also suggested that it could charge people to promote channels, which could bring in revenue for the free app.
The channels will appear similar to a conventional chat, but without the ability to message back, and will feature in a new section of the app.
WhatsApp's chief executive Will Cathcart has already warned that the app could be shut down in Britain if incoming online safety laws mean regulators asking it to break encryption.
Rival apps such as Telegram have long had a similar channels feature, which is especially popular in Eastern Europe and India to follow government accounts and famous figures.
Instagram has been developing a more conventional Twitter alternative, with live posts and replies featuring in a feed. Many users have tried Twitter rivals such as Mastodon and BlueSky since Mr Musk's takeover.