WhatsApp presumably is preparing an app update to support notification channels on Android Oreo. This is known from a handful of Oreo-based device users running the WhatsApp beta app starting from version 2.18.18.
According to reports, in the beta version, WhatsApp displays 10 notification channels, namely group notification, message notification, chat history backup, critical app alerts, failure notifications, media playback, sending media, silent notifications, other notifications, and uncategorized.
Each of these channels has settings that can be arranged individually based on the type of notification in question. Users can set priority notifications from available notifications.
For example, if you do not want to get notifications from group chats or chat backups, they can be made to prevent the phone from ringing or vibrating. Can also be disabled (disable) altogether so it does not appear in the notification tray.
