How to make WhatsApp group voice and video calls

Emma Sims July 31, 2018

WhatsApp has made the much-requested decision to introduce group call functionality to its platform. The move comes three years after the instant messaging service introduced voice calls, with a FaceTime-esque video option unveiled the subsequent year.

How to make WhatsApp group voice and video calls

But what really is a WhatsApp group call? What can it do? And how can you do it? Read on for everything you need to know about WhatsApp group calls, the latest feature on everyone’s favourite encrypted messaging platform.

What are WhatsApp group calls?

WhatsApp group calls are calls between groups of up to four people via the 1.5 billion-strong messaging platform WhatsApp.

The feature has been long requested by users of the app, which purports to host over two billion minutes of calls per day. That’s a hell of a lot of Love Island dissection.

Meanwhile, group calls will be kitted out with end-to-end encryption like other messages on WhatsApp. This is no mean feat; as TechCrunch points out, Telegram, the self-professed “secure” messaging app, hasn’t even got round to encrypting group messages, let along group calls.

In an age of data breaches and rampant misuse, we’ve got to laud WhatsApp for this evidently not-so-negligible achievement, then. No wonder it’s used by a cool 20% of the global population.

How can I make a WhatsApp group call?

Unlike encryption, it doesn’t take a tech whizz to work this one out. In fact, it’s so simple you could probably coax your technophobe grandparents on for a good old face-to-face natter.

Users must start a call with a person of their choice. An Add Participant button will appear on the top right corner of the screen. Simply press this, and select the participant you’d like to join the conversation. You can add up to four. And that’s all there is to it!

WhatsApp is nothing if not user-friendly, and its group calls are just the latest on an impressive roster of features which testify to that. So summon your grandparents, besties or even your colleagues: WhatsApp group calls have officially landed.

Lead image: WhatsApp