A WhatsApp channel for people in East Sussex

We've recently launched an official WhatsApp Channel for East Sussex County Council which we hope your local residents might find useful.

We think it can be a good way to share messages with residents which they can trust. We know that about 80% of adults use WhatsApp. And it’s already used by the UK Government to give people another option to stay informed and updated.

We’d love it if you’re able to follow the channel and share it, to help it grow. You can find it by scanning this QR code on whichever device you normally use WhatsApp.

As I’m sure you know, following a WhatsApp Channel is completely private - followers’ details are not visible to us or to other followers, and no personal information is shared. It’s also a one-way system – followers cannot reply to our posts (except with emojis) but they can share messages with other people.

We think the channel could be especially useful to keep people updated during emergencies, to help them find services they need, and sometimes simply to celebrate life in East Sussex.

But we’ll be sure to use it sparingly – we only want to update people when there’s something significant to share.

We’d very much welcome your help if you’re able to share these details now in your community and, in time, to share our messages with your own contacts on WhatsApp when you feel that would be useful.

To give you an example, we’re using it around now to update people about the deadline next week for applying for primary school places, and to remind people that Sunday is the last chance for people to have their say on the consultation about the future of local councils in East Sussex.

for the QR code, see the leaflet below: