Video and audio calls in WhatsApp can now be conducted with a whole group of friends. The new feature is rolled out to all users.
WhatsApp video group conversations start like this
The WhatsApp feature was announced earlier this month at the Facebook Developer Conference F8 and now appears to be cautiously available on the first handful of Android devices. Several WhatsApp users have confirmed to Android Police that they can already make video calls with groups, although the function seems far from being available to everyone.
Group discussions are likely to be rolled out globally by WhatsApp. It often happens that new features are suddenly available to users, without having to download an update. Chances are that this time WhatsApp will also remotely decide which users are first.
Up to four discussion partners
You can, of course, call one-to-one and video chat with WhatsApp, and group conversations in text form are also possible. Now the two are combined so that you can start a video call with friends. Once the function is available in your version of WhatsApp, follow the steps below:
- Start an audio or video call with one person as you normally would. You do this by pressing the camera or phone icon at the top right of the conversation;
- During the audio or video call, a figure is shown at the top right. Press to open your contact list and decide who you want to add to the conversation;
- If you are called by someone who is already in a group conversation, you not only see the name of the person you are adding, but also that of other people who are already in the conversation.
However, there are some limitations to the group conversations of WhatsApp. So you can call with up to four people at the same time. That is already busy enough, but it is a lot less than with some competitors. For example, Snapchat has recently introduced video calls with no fewer than sixteen people at once.
WhatsApp is free and the use of the new group call function also. The app can be found in the Play Store via the link below and works on all recent Android smartphones.
→ Download WhatsApp in Google Play (free)
