WhatsApp users can now invite others to join groups and one-on-one calls, even if they don’t have an account. Here are the details.
‘Free, end-to-end encrypted calls for anyone with no time limit’
Today, WhatsApp announced the official rollout of guest calling, a feature that allows users to “invite anyone to join a WhatsApp call – even if they don’t have a WhatsApp account.”
According to WhatsApp, guests must always be approved by the call host before joining, whether it’s a one-on-one call or a group call with up to 32 participants.
Guests enter a waiting room before being admitted, and hosts can remove them at any time. Guests also cannot see the phone numbers of other participants, send messages or invite additional people.
WhatsApp says that guest calling supports features like screen sharing, hand-raising, and emoji-based reactions. Guests can also join directly from a computer browser, without installing the app.
Here is WhatsApp about the new feature:
To get started, navigate to the calls tab in WhatsApp, select the “+” icon, create a call link, and send it to the people you want to talk to – colleagues, classmates or tutor – without worrying about what apps they have.
Today’s launch comes after WhatsApp expanded testing of a similar feature for text conversations earlier this year, allowing users to exchange end-to-end encrypted messages with people who don’t have a WhatsApp account. At the time, however, the feature did not support voice or video calling.
Back to today’s news, WhatsApp also announced that it is working on integrations with Google Calendar and Outlook, allowing users to create WhatsApp call links directly from their calendars and add them to event invitations. The feature requires a WhatsApp plugin and is expected to launch later this year.
To read the full announcement from WhatsApp, follow this link.
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