Instant messaging app WhatsApp continues to offer new features to its users very often. Recently, the company had informed us that an exciting and useful feature would be added to the group calling in WhatsApp. The company had revealed that they would double the group calling limit on WhatsApp. This announcement was part of a bunch of new product updates announced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
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About the WhatsApp New Group Call Feature
The new update was first spotted at the beta version of WhatsApp on both Android and iPhone. But now, this feature is officially available to the users. It can be used on both Android and iOS platforms. The group calling limit on WhatsApp has been increased to 8 instead of 4. Now you will be able to do group calling with 8 people simultaneously.
WhatsApp has shared this information on its blog. It clearly states that now 8 members can enjoy group calling together on WhatsApp. This feature is available for both Android and iOS users. So, if you want to take advantage of this feature, then update your WhatsApp with the latest version.
The same privacy you expect from a face-to-face conversation (remember them?) now with up to 8 people. End-to-end encrypted. Update your WhatsApp to try it out. pic.twitter.com/xZUX60mysD
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) April 28, 2020
WhatsApp says that last month, people have spent an average of 15 billion minutes on WhatsApp calls, which is much higher than before. The use of WhatsApp calls has increased significantly amidst of lockdown caused by Corona Virus. They also mentioned that WhatsApp calls are completely protected with end-to-end encryption. The company says that we have designed group calling in such a way that users can also take advantage of it on a slow network.
How to Use WhatsApp Group Call Feature
There are two ways to take benefit from the WhatsApp Group Call feature. You can start a call from within a group or with a single user and add other participants to the group call.
From a group
If you want to do a voice/video call from within a group, then –
- Click on the call icon on the upper right-hand corner of the group’s window.
- Then, select the participants that you want to add on the call.
- Now simply click on the voice/video call button at the top to start the call with the selected participants.
From an individual chat
If you want to do a group call with the contacts that are not present in a single group, then –
- Firstly, open the chat window of the participant from which you want to start the group call.
- Then click on the voice or video call icon at the top of the screen.
- Once you are within the call, just click on the Add Participant button to add more users to the call. This can be repeated up to seven times to add participants to the call.
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Apart from this, Facebook has also launched the Messenger Rooms feature by noticing the increasing response of video calls. In Facebook Messenger Rooms, users can avail of group calling with 50 people at a time. Apart from the people working from home, this feature is useful for students who are studying online nowadays.