The group today
The organisation has no copy of its own record
The move
Replace a work WhatsApp group with Enclessa
Write down what the group is actually used for
Before anything moves, list the distinct things happening in that one thread — the rota, the operational questions, the customer issues, the social.
Create the organisation and invite people by email
Set up the organisation and its first team, and invite people to accounts rather than collecting phone numbers.
Make one channel per thing, and keep private conversations private
Give each of the uses you listed its own channel, grouped into categories.
Run both for a fortnight, then close the group
Keep the WhatsApp group open while people learn where things go, and answer every question in the new channel rather than in the old group.
Save anything from the old group that matters
WhatsApp can export a single chat as a text file from within the conversation, one chat at a time and from a personal device rather than by an administrator.
Use the leaving process you now have
When somebody leaves, deactivate the account. Access ends across every channel at once, the organisation keeps its record, and nobody is relying on a colleague to delete a thread from their own phone.
Cost
Start on Free
Which plan this needs
The Free plan, for up to 10 active members, with no time limit and no payment card: channels, threads, end-to-end encrypted direct messages, video calls and search over the last ninety days.
Compare plans
What it will not do
The limits, before you find them
- There is no WhatsApp importer. Nothing moves your WhatsApp history into Enclessa, and anything worth keeping has to be brought across by hand.
- Group channels are managed by default: server-readable so that search, retention and export can work.
- Enclessa runs in the browser and as desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and on iPhone and iPad from the App Store; there is no Android app.
- There is no telephone number, no SMS and no way to reach somebody who has not signed in.
FAQ
Replacing a WhatsApp group: questions
- No. There is no WhatsApp importer. WhatsApp can export a single conversation as a text file from within that conversation, and anything worth keeping has to be posted into the right channel by hand.
- For iPhone and iPad, yes: the iOS app is in the App Store. Enclessa also runs in the browser and as desktop apps for macOS and Windows. There is no Android app, so for a team on Android phones this is the most important thing to test before committing.
- Direct messages and group direct messages are end-to-end encrypted using MLS as specified in RFC 9420, with no administrator override. Group channels are server-readable by default, because that is what makes search, retention and export possible; an organisation can permit end-to-end encrypted ones.
Bring your team over this afternoon
Free for up to 10 people, with encrypted direct messages and video calls. No payment card, no time limit, no server to run.
For businesses and organisations only — not available to consumers.