WhatsApp Introduces Video & Audio Call On Its Desktop Application The newly added feature at the moment allows one-on-one audio and video calls
By Debarghya Sil •
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Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Thursday announced the roll out of video and audio call feature through its desktop app. One of the most requested features that users have demanded over the years can be availed by downloading the WhatsApp desktop application. However, this feature is currently not available on WhatsApp Web.
The newly added feature at the moment allows one-on-one audio and video calls. However, in a blog post, the company said it will be expanding this feature to include group voice and video calls in the future.
The company highlighted that the voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted so the company cannot hear or see them, irrespective from which device the call is being made.
The company observed that throughout 2020, there was a significant rise in the number of video calls. The company stated on New Year's Eve it broke a record for most calls ever made a single day with 1.4 billion voice and video calls.
"With so many people still apart from their loved ones, and adjusting to new ways of working, we want conversations on WhatsApp to feel as close to in-person as possible, regardless of where you are in the world or the tech you're using," the company noted.
WhatsApp said to make video and audio calling over desktops/laptops easier, it will offer both portrait and landscape orientation, resizable standalone window for computer screen and will be on the screen.
WhatsApp which has over a billion active users across the world and around 530 million in India itself was mired up in controversy related to its privacy policy, compelling thousands of users to flock Signal and Telegram.
The controversy erupted when WhatsApp notified its users about the mandatory privacy policy update in January, this year. After reading about the update, users feared WhatsApp will be sharing personal data to Facebook, causing a mass exodus to other messaging platforms. WhatsApp also had to push its update from February to May 15. However, since then, WhatsApp has clarified that the privacy policy will have no impact on the personal chats or profile data of a user but is related to business using the service for customer service purposes.
The company in its recent blog said that it will be going ahead with its much debated privacy policy update. The company said it will allow its users to read about the update "at their own pace". Whatsapp will also add a new banner feature for its users to get additional information about the update.
