Millions of WhatsApp users worldwide have been alerted to a new update which will change phone calls on the instant messaging service forever.
The renowned app has been a saving grace for years, allowing people to make calls to friends and family when they have no phone signal but access to WiFi – and now, the function is being tweaked in a new update which is set to be a real ‘game changer’.
The new feature that is currently being tested will allow people to create links to join a call – in a similar fashion to Zoom and Google Meets hangouts – as many working from home have done in the past couple of years, working from home in the wake of a global coronavirus pandemic.
Furthermore, under the new feature, users will be able to schedule calls also, instead of having to set them up on the fly and in the moment. The change was spotted by technology investigators at WABetaInfo, who found evidence of it in the beta trial version of WhatsApp.
The website reports: “If you want to check if you have this feature enabled for your account, just check the calls tab. If you see a new option called ‘create call link’: if this option shows up, it means you can already start creating a shareable link for calls.”
Similar to FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Meet, you can choose whether you want the call to allow video as well as audio. It will automatically convert to a group call when more than two people join, meaning you will be able to have conference call meetings on WhatsApp.
If the new update is available to you, users are being urged to only share links with people you trust to keep your device secure. The feature is currently only available in beta right now, but experts said it will eventually roll out to the general release version of the app at an unknown date in the future.
WhatsApp was founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, former employees of Yahoo! It was initially not intended to be used as a messaging app.
In January 2009, the pair were keen to jump into the multi-million-pound world of the Apple App Store. Koum came up with an idea for an app to provide dynamic information about the people listed in your address book, and later WhatsApp was born.
