Video calls are probably the only way recently that a lot of people are getting in touch with each other. As we continue to practice physical distancing, digital means become more important than ever. So it’s no wonder that one of the most requested features for most messaging apps is to increase the number of participants in a video call. Facebook-owned WhatsApp is announcing that they are now letting up to 8 people participate in both voice and video calls.
Previously, you could only have up to four participants in WhatsApp calls so the latest update doubles that number. It’s still a far cry of course from what video conferencing tools like Zoom and Skype can let you add, but with WhatsApp, you probably will not be using this for business or enterprise levels anyway. It should be enough for catching up with family members and friends, as long as there are just 8 of you.
As with their messages, these video and voice calls also have end-to-end encryption so you won’t worry that someone else or even WhatsApp itself will be listening in or watching your calls. They also say that even people on lower-end devices or those with slow network conditions will still be able to join the call because that’s how they built the feature. To start a call, you can do it directly from your group chat or start a one-on-one call and then just keep adding people manually.
The only requirement to have this feature is that all call participants need to be on the latest updated version of WhatsApp. It should be rolling out to users right now so you’ll have to double check first with everyone before starting that call. And in case you have one of those Portal smart displays from Facebook, you can also download and use WhatsApp there if you didn’t know it yet so you can make group calls there too.
The 8-person limit may not be much compared to other video calling apps. Google Duo recently upped its limit to 12 while Facebook itself introduced Messenger Rooms which can give you up to 50. Skype also can let 50 people in on in their video conference while Zoom’s free service can have up to 100.
