Compare between Communities, Channels, and groups

• Superadmins have full control. They can change the chat's name, icon, description, and background, and they are the only ones who can promote other members to admins or superadmins
• Admins help manage the chat. They can add or remove members, delete messages, and ban people who violate rules, but they cannot change the chat's main settings or delete the Community or Channel

Groups

• Everyone in the group can change the name
• There are no restrictions on group names
• Everyone in the group can change the chat icon
• Groups do not have a description feature
• Individual backgrounds cannot be set for the entire group

Communities

• Only superadmins can change the Community name
• There are no restrictions on Community names
• Only superadmins can change the Community icon
• Only superadmins can change the Community description
• Only superadmins can change the Community background

Channels

• Only superadmins can change the Channel name
• Channel names must follow Rakuten Viber’s guidelines
• Only superadmins can change the Channel icon
• Only superadmins can change the Channel description
• Only superadmins can change the Channel background

Groups

• Groups can have up to 250 people
• Admins cannot add an alias to their profile
• Everyone in the group can add new members
• Only admins can remove people from the group
• People cannot be banned from groups

Communities

• Communities can have an unlimited number of people
• Admins and superadmins can add an alias to their profile to protect their privacy
• Everyone can add new members by default, but superadmins can restrict invitation privileges so only they can invite people
• Only superadmins and admins can remove people from the Community
• Only superadmins and admins can ban people from rejoining the Community

Channels

• Channels can have an unlimited number of people
• Admins and superadmins can add an alias to their profile to protect their privacy
• Everyone can add new members by default, but superadmins can restrict invitation privileges so only they can invite people
• Only superadmins and admins can remove people from the Channel
• Only superadmins and admins can ban people from rejoining the Channel

Groups

• Everyone in the group can see the full list of members
• Everyone can see the phone numbers of other group members
• Everyone can call other members directly from the group

Communities

• Everyone in the Community can see the full list of members
• Your phone number is hidden, and other members cannot see it
• People cannot call you directly from the Community, keeping your privacy safe

Channels

• Only superadmins and admins can see the complete member list. As a member, you'll only be able to see the list of superadmins and admins
• Your phone number is hidden, and other members cannot see it
• People cannot call you directly from the Channel, keeping your privacy safe

Groups

• New members cannot see messages sent before they joined the group
• Everyone in the group can send messages
• Groups do not have a separate comment feature
• Content inside private groups is not subject to the Rakuten Viber Acceptable Use Policy, though group names are moderated
• Individual messages inside groups cannot be reported for violating Rakuten Viber Terms of Service
• Everyone in the group can send links

Communities

• New members can see the entire message history from before they joined
• Everyone can post by default, but superadmins can change settings so only they and admins can post
• Everyone can comment on posts unless a superadmin disables the feature
• All content must comply with Rakuten Viber's Acceptable Use Policy
• Content can be reported by members for violating Rakuten Viber Terms of Service
• Everyone can send links by default, but superadmins can restrict this privilege to admins and themselves only

Channels

• New members can see the entire message history from before they joined
• Only superadmins and admins can post messages to a Channel
• Everyone can comment on Channel posts unless a superadmin disables the feature
• All content must comply with Rakuten Viber's Acceptable Use Policy
• Content can be reported by members for violating Rakuten Viber Terms of Service
• Everyone can send links in the comment section by default, but superadmins can restrict this privilege to admins and themselves only

Groups

• Groups do not support business integration tools
• Groups are strictly private and cannot be made public or searchable
• People cannot connect automated bots to a group
• Member growth and activity insights are not available for groups
• Detailed message delivery and read statistics are visible to everyone in the group

Communities

• Communities can be designated as an official Rakuten Viber for Business chat
• Superadmins can make Communities public so anyone on can search for and join them
• Superadmins can connect automated bots to help manage or interact with the Community
• Detailed member insights are available to superadmins for public Communities only
• Basic message performance and view metrics are visible to everyone in the Community

Channels

• Channels can be designated as an official Rakuten Viber for Business chat
• Superadmins can make Channels public so anyone on Viber can search for and look up the content
• Superadmins can connect automated bots to schedule posts or manage Channel interactions
• Detailed subscriber growth and engagement insights are available to all superadmins
• Detailed message statistics are reserved for superadmins and admins, while subscribers can see a simplified summary of total views and engagements

If you have a business account, you can convert your public Community into a Channel to switch from a two-way discussion to a one-way broadcast line.