WhatsApp group calls are now live for Android and iOS

WhatsApp group call

Up to four people can now chat at once using WhatsApp for Android and iOS. The new group call feature is rolling out to both platforms at the same time, and lets app users set up multi-way video or voice calls.

To use it, start a call with just one person, then tap the 'Add participants' button in the top-right to invite more friends. The new participant will receive a notification, and can choose whether to accept or decline.

You can only invite one new participant at a time, and you can't invite a fourth caller until the third has joined. Only the host can invite more people to join a call.

Speak easy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced group calls for WhatsApp and Instagram (both of which are owned by the social media behemoth) at the F8 2018 developer conference in May. Zuckerberg said that people already make two billion minutes of voice and video calls on WhatsApp every day, and this new addition could add to that number. 

All WhatsApp calls are end-to-end encrypted, and are engineered to work well even with a poor internet connection, which makes them particularly useful in countries with patchy mobile data coverage – including India, where the feature was trialled before its global launch.

Via The Verge

Cat Ellis

Cat is the editor of TechRadar's sister site Advnture. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better)