WhatsApp is finally adding group voice and video calling. The Facebook-owned messaging service plans to introduce the feature in the coming months.
The group chat option will enable four participants and will also work within the smartphone app.
The launch comes almost two years after WhatsApp introduced one-on-one video chatting.
Facebook announced the feature at the F8 conference on May 1, but isn’t revealing many more details as yet.
We’d imagine those participating in existing group chats will simply be able to hit the phone and camera icons in order to get started with a voice or video chat.
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In a Newsroom blog, the company wrote: “Voice and video calling are very popular on WhatsApp, and we’re excited to share that group calling will be coming in the months ahead. Stickers are also coming to WhatsApp soon.”
Yes, stickers are coming too, for those keen to clutter up their conversations with all manner of tat.
The arrival of group chats allows WhatsApp to match Skype, while it beats Apple’s FaceTime service to the punch.
The latter is important given many users choose between group chats within iMessage – which integrates FaceTime – or WhatsApp.
Facebook isn’t revealing exactly when the feature will launch, but we can probably expect to see it arrive in beta versions shortly.
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Clear History and more
Elsewhere during F8, crisis hit Facebook announced it is introducing a Clear History feature.
The company wrote: “This feature will enable you to see the websites and apps that send us information when you use them, delete this information from your account, and turn off our ability to store it associated with your account going forward. Learn more here.”
The firm is also launching a dating service, so if you didn’t trust Facebook with your data before, now probably isn’t the time to start.
Is this the WhatsApp feature you’ve been waiting for? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
