Meta-owned WhatsApp rolls-out voice-chat feature for large groups: Details

WhatsApp is rolling out a new voice chat feature for large groups. The Meta-owned Messaging Platform on November 14 announced that the new feature is similar to a group call but, instead of ringing each member, allows people to join in quietly with an in-chat popup notification. 

To start a voice chat, a user needs to open the group chat that they want to start the voice chat with and tap on the blue voice chat icon on the top right corner of the screen. Then tap on the ‘Start Voice Chat’ option to initiate the conversation. Once started, group members will receive a push notification to join.

Users will be able to join in and leave whenever they want without disrupting the ongoing voice chat. The call controls will be available on top of the chat screen while the voice chat is active, allowing both participating and non-participating members to send text messages. Participants will also be able to see the profiles of those who have joined from the banner that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Similar features are available over other social media and messaging platforms, including Discord, Telegram, and Slack, which allows users from the same group or server to connect using voice chat.

Meta is rolling out voice chat globally on both Android and iOS devices, starting with large groups with 33 members or more. WhatsApp has said that the feature will be available for all in the coming weeks when the roll-out cycle completes.  

Recently, WhatsApp also announced a new privacy feature for voice calls that would let users hide IP addresses on phone calls. In a blog post, WhatsApp announced that it has started rolling out an optional feature that gives users the option to enable the “Protect IP address in calls” option through the advanced settings menu under the Privacy section.