You can now make group voice, video calls on WhatsApp
What's the story
In May, at Facebook's F8 developers conference, the social media giant had announced that its messaging platform, WhatsApp, would be bringing group calls with voice and video support. Now, WhatsApp has confirmed that the feature has gone live on iOS and Android devices. The group calling feature supports up to four people simultaneously regardless of their geographical location. Here are the details.
Details
The group call feature will work in less-than-ideal network conditions
Like all WhatsApp chats, group voice and video calls will be end-to-end encrypted. To use group calls, user has to first update the app, then start a voice or video call with a contact, and click on the new "add participant" button on the top right corner to add more people. Additionally, the feature has been designed to work in less-than-ideal network conditions too.
Competition
WhatsApp was lagging behind in the group calls department
WhatsApp started its voice calling and video calling features in 2014 and 2016 respectively, but only supported such calls between two people. With Facebook Messenger supporting group video calls of up to 50 people, and Skype supporting 25, WhatsApp was lacking in this department. Naturally, this feature was long overdue for WhatsApp 1.5 billion monthly active users.
Data
WhatsApp users spend an astronomical time on the phone
Currently, WhatsApp's 1.5 billion users are claimed to be spending a whopping 2 billion minutes on calls per day. The new group calling support might push that number even higher.