WhatsApp Introduces Voice Chat For Larger Groups: How It Works
The new feature is designed and anticipated to be less disruptive than a group call, which rings every member of a group.
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Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, has officially released a new voice chat feature that targets larger groups whose members are seeking to improve interactions via audio.
Viral Tea observed that the new feature, which sees a person adding 128 participants up from the previous 32, was rolled out across all smartphones on Tuesday, November 14.
How It Works
The new feature is designed and anticipated to be less disruptive than a group call, which rings every member of a group.
Voice chats are started quietly without any ringing involved with an in-chat bubble that you tap to join.
Screenshot of Viral Tea Ke's official WhatsApp group with the new group voice chat feature. /WHATSAPP.VIRALTEAKE
The feature lets you talk about things with whoever can join while allowing you to keep messaging those who cannot.
You can quickly unmute, hang up or message the group without having to leave the voice chat by clicking on the call controls at the top of the chat.
"Rolling out now: voice chat for your larger groups! You’ll soon have the option to talk it out live with whoever can join or keep texting with whoever can’t," stated Meta on X (formerly Twitter).
How To Use It
WhatsApp however noted that it protects voice chats with end-to-end encryption by default. To start a voice chat, tap on the top right corner of the screen and select 'Start Voice Chat'.
However, if one is in a meeting or needs to leave for a few minutes, one can simply tap the chat bubble to leave the voice chat. When they're ready to come back, they can tap the chat bubble again to rejoin.
The call controls are located at the top of the group chat, so users can continue to message while the voice chat is in progress.
To start a group voice chat, the user needs to open the group chat they want to start a voice chat with. If the group chat has 33 or more participants, the user will have to tap 'Group call' find the contacts they want to add to the call, then tap 'Voice call.'
In circumstances where a group chat has 32 or fewer participants, one will need to tap 'Voice call' and confirm the decision.
It is worth it to note that voice calls use your phone’s internet connection rather than your mobile SIM minutes. Charges may apply in case one is not connected to any source of internet.
Voice chats on WhatsApp essentially function just like the features on Discord, Telegram and Slack, as they allow large groups of people to connect over a spoken chat.
