WhatsApp is working on another new feature under which the list of participants of the group calling feature can be increased. Is the Facebook-owned company ready to compete with Zoom?
Many new changes are being seen on the instant messaging app WhatsApp. Whether these changes are in the form of new features or as an update to the existing features, users are seeing many developments in the app to increase the experience of the users. Now the company is working on another new feature under which the participant list of the group calling features can be increased. This directly means that more than 4 people will be able to make WhatsApp video calling simultaneously through this feature.
Inspired by the stupendous growth of video meeting apps in social distancing times, WhatsApp is building a new feature that will allow more participants, that the current limit of 4, to join group audio and video calls.
WhatsApp Group Calling to Allow More Than 4 Participants
According to an online report, the company may soon introduce a feature through which more than 4 people will be able to make video calling simultaneously. It can be guessed that this change is being made to help people living away from their homes due to COVID-19. This limit can be reduced from 4 to 6 or 8 participants. However, the information about how long this feature will be introduced has not been given at the moment.
Apart from this, the company can also add multi-device support on its platform. According to the reports, the company has been working on this feature for a long time. Apart from this, it can also bring a new user interface on its WhatsApp platform. However, it will be for calling only. No official information has been given by the company about it.
Recently in another report was revealed according to which WhatsApp has introduced a new beta version for its iPhone users. It has a feature named Context Menu. The Info option has been added to it. Also, the company has removed the share sheet integration feature with this new update.
In order to get the new feature, WhatsApp would want its users to update to the latest version of the app. It will not be available in the older versions of the messaging app.
With the entire world under lockdown due to COVID-19, the video-calling apps are in great demand. This is what made the Silicon Valley startup Zoom, the most sought after video calling platform in a just matter of a month. However, due to innumerable security vulnerabilities found in the app, several tech companies and governments across the world had banned their employees from using the app. The Indian government too raised issues over Zoom’s flawed security policies and called the app “unsafe”.
“Many organizations have allowed their staff to work from home to stop the spread of coronavirus disease. Online communication platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Teams for Education, Slack, Cisco WebEx etc. are being used for remote meetings and webinars. Insecure usage of the platform may allow cyber-criminals to access sensitive information such as meeting details and conversations,” the advisory issued by the Home Ministry read.
However, WhatsApp too is no saint when it comes to security breaches. As much as twelve security vulnerabilities were discovered in the app a few months ago. The Facebook-owned messaging app assured the users that it has fixed the flaws in the latest update of the app. With people giving Zoom a miss now, will WhatsApp video calling feature carve a place out for itself? That is something only time can tell once the feature is officially rolled out.
For now, people also have Microsoft Teams, Skype, Hangouts and Apple’s FaceTime to use if they are not comfortable in sharing information with Zoom
