Viber is one of the most widely used messaging apps globally. Besides chatting and calling, Viber also offers channels – a feature that allows people, communities, and businesses to share updates, news, and content with their audience.
Whether you want to join a channel or create your own, this guide will help you understand how Viber channels work, how to make your channel public, and how businesses can benefit from it.
What is a Viber Channel?
A Viber channel is a space where admins can share posts, updates, videos, links, and more with subscribers. Unlike group chats, channels are designed for broadcasting messages to a large audience.
Subscribers can read and react to posts, but only channel admins can send messages. This makes channels useful for communities, influencers, and businesses who want to connect directly with their followers.
Public and Private Channels
There are two types of Viber channels:
- Private Channel – This type isn’t searchable on Viber. People can only join through an invite link.
- Public Channel – This type is searchable, meaning anyone can find and join it by typing the channel name or related keywords.
Here’s the official description from Viber:
Public channels
To learn more about channels, take a look at our dedicated Channels knowledge base for admins article.
Become a public channel
Public channels can be found and joined by any Rakuten Viber user that searches for the channel’s name, or keywords contained in a channel’s name and description.
We’ll also create a unique landing page for public channels, that will be displayed as part of the channel invite link. The page will allow people to preview your channel in their web browsers (even if they don’t have Rakuten Viber) and be searchable on Google.
Once you have a channel that is eligible to become public (by reaching several minimum thresholds), you* will receive a notification asking if you want to Go public.
To change your channel type after it’s eligible to go public:
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on Chats
- Select a channel in which you are a superadmin
- Tap Info (Android) or the name of the channel (iOS) at the top of the screen
- Android: tap on Channel info
- Tap Channel type
- Select what type of channel you want
- Private: The channel isn’t searchable, and members can only join via the invite link
- Public: The channel is searchable, and anyone can join
While your request to go public is being processed, you will see Public pending next to Channel type on the Info screen. If your request is successful, the status will change to Public.
Please note that requests from channels that don’t comply with Rakuten Viber’s Acceptable Use Policy and Terms of Service, will be rejected.
*You will need to be a superadmin of the channel. Any superadmin can change the channel type.
How to Find and Join a Public Channel
If you want to explore and join channels, here’s how:
On Phone
- Open Rakuten Viber on your mobile.
- Tap on Chats.
- Tap on Search (Android) or swipe down to reveal the search bar (iOS).
- Type in the name of the channel or a keyword.
- Tap Join channel to subscribe.
On Desktop
- Open Rakuten Viber on your computer.
- Click on the Search field.
- Type in the name of the channel or topic.
- Click Join channel to become a member.
Partner with Rakuten Viber
If you are a business or creator, Viber offers several opportunities to grow your channel:
- Promotional stickers – Work with Viber to design a sticker pack. People who download it will automatically join your channel.
- Verified channel – Verified badges make your channel more trustworthy.
- Go public – Reach more users through search visibility.
- Landing page – Viber creates a landing page for your channel, making it searchable on Google.
Here’s the official note:
Partner with Rakuten Viber
Rakuten Viber offers a variety of opportunities for businesses that want to see their channels grow.
Benefits may include:
- Promotional stickers – our team will work with you to design a sticker pack. People that download the pack will automatically be added to your channel.
- Become verified – verified channels are trusted more by Rakuten Viber users.
- Go public – Rakuten Viber users will be able to find your channel using Search.
- Landing page – we’ll create a landing page for your channel on the Viber.com platform.
Take a look at our Rakuten Viber for business page for more information.
Why Use Viber Channels?
Here are some of the main benefits of using Viber channels:
- Reach a large audience – Share your message with thousands of users.
- Build a community – Keep your followers updated with news, tips, and content.
- Boost your brand – Verified and public channels increase visibility.
- Search engine presence – Public channels get their own landing page that can be found on Google.
Viber channels are a powerful tool for individuals, communities, and businesses. Whether you create a private group for a small audience or a public channel to reach thousands, Viber makes it easy to share content and stay connected.
If you’re a business, partnering with Viber can bring extra benefits like verification, promotional stickers, and more visibility.
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Now that you know how to create, manage, and join Viber channels, you can start building your own community today.
