WhatsApp rolled out voice and video call support for its desktop app version on Thursday
WhatsApp rolled out voice and video call support for its desktop app version on Thursday. The popular #messagingapp said while they’re starting with one-to-one calls, it will be expanding the feature to include group voice and video calls in the future. Currently, the Facebook-owned platform has a user base of over two billion and it has seen a boom in both voice and video calls in the last one year due to the lockdowns. “Voice and video calls on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, so WhatsApp can’t hear or see them, whether you call from your phone or your computer,” the company said in a statement.
The new WhatsApp feature will work in both portrait and landscape orientations, and the video and voice calls appear in a separate resizable window.About desktop calling
You can make free voice and video calls to your contacts on WhatsApp Desktop if you have the app installed on your computer.
Desktop calling is supported on:
Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer
macOS 10.13 and newer
To make or receive calls on WhatsApp Desktop, you’ll need:
An audio output device and microphone for voice and video calls.
A camera for video calls.
An active internet connection on your computer and phone. The call won’t go through your phone, but it needs to be online to establish the call.
To grant WhatsApp permission to access your computer’s microphone and camera. WhatsApp needs access to your computer’s microphone for calls and camera for video calls.
Note: Group calls aren’t supported on WhatsApp Desktop at this time.
Related resources:
How to make a voice call
How to make a video call
Can’t use desktop calling
WhatsApp finally rolled out its highly-anticipated voice and video calling feature for the Desktop app last week. The Facebook-owned instant messaging platform says that the feature is rolling out to users now and claims that similar to the voice and video calling on the mobile apps, the Desktop app also offers end-to-end encryption for calls. While WhatsApp calling does not directly compete against Zoom or Google Meet, the new feature has been highly anticipated by its massive userbase for over a year now.
The new WhatsApp feature will work in both portrait and landscape orientations, and the video and voice calls appear in a separate resizable window. As mentioned, voice and video calls on WhatsApp Desktop are end-to-end encrypted. In order to use the new video calling feature, users will have to install the WhatsApp desktop app on either a Mac or PC, which requires that you already be a WhatsApp user on mobile. After installing the desktop app (from WhatsApp website), users need to scan a QR code to log in. Once logged in, users need to open a chat, where they will see two new buttons for voice call (telephone receiver icon) and video call (video camera icon). Clicking on either will initiate a voice call or a video call with the selected contact.
Currently, voice and video calling is only available for one-to-one chats and will later come to group chats. On mobile, WhatsApp group chats support up to eight people during a single voice or video call.
Earlier, the voice and video calling icons started appearing on WhatsApp Web though the feature was still under development. WhatsApp had also announced that its mobile app clocked 1.4 billion voice and video calls on the this New Year’s eve — breaking all its previous records. The growth in video and voice calls not just on WhatsApp but elsewhere, is mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has pushed people to stay indoors.
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