WhatsApp is making it easier to organise gatherings without relying on endless group chat messages, with an Events update that lets you invite people who don’t even have the app.

The latest update allows users to create personalised event invitations and share them through a link, meaning friends and family can view the details and RSVP without needing a WhatsApp account. It’s a welcome change for anyone who’s tried arranging a birthday, dinner or family gathering only to discover that not everyone uses the same messaging platform.

As part of the update, WhatsApp is also introducing a dedicated Events Home, bringing all your plans into one place rather than leaving them buried among conversations. Accessible through Settings > Events, the new section displays both upcoming and past events, including those you’ve organised yourself and invitations you’ve received from others.

From there, users can create invitations with custom cover images, keep track of who’s attending and set reminders ahead of an event. There’s also an option to let guests bring someone along, which should make organising larger gatherings a little less complicated. Having everything in one place also means there’s less need to scroll through old messages just to check the time or location.

Perhaps more importantly, WhatsApp has considered what happens when invitations are shared beyond your usual contacts. According to the announcement people you don’t know won’t be able to see your phone number, while guests without WhatsApp will only receive the event’s address after confirming their attendance.

That’s particularly useful for gatherings involving people outside your immediate circle, where sharing an invitation shouldn’t necessarily mean sharing your personal contact details. WhatsApp says its existing end-to-end encryption for messages and calls remains unchanged, although that protection shouldn’t be confused with a guarantee that every detail shared through an event link is encrypted in the same way.

The update gives WhatsApp’s Events feature a more practical role beyond organising plans within existing group chats. Allowing people to respond without installing the app removes one of the bigger inconveniences of using a messaging service for invitations, while the new Events Home should help keep those plans from disappearing beneath everyday conversations.

WhatsApp says the new Events features will roll out gradually to all users over the coming weeks, so they may not appear immediately on every device.