For years, audio and video calls feature have been available for WhatsApp users on Android and iPhone. Now, the Facebook-owned company has started rolling out the feature to WhatsApp's desktop on Mac or Windows PC.
WhatsApp says the voice and video calls on WhatsApp Web will be end-to-end encrypted, assuring that WhatsApp doesn't listen or see them, whether the call is from your phone or computer.
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For now, the feature is available for one-to-one calls in the desktop apps and will be expanded to group calls in the future as well.
2020 saw a huge increase in the use of audio and video conferencing due to the covid-19 pandemic, WhatsApp sees the importance of its users being able to answer calls via big screens.
The Facebook-owned company also added that its new calling feature will work on both portrait and landscape orientation, plus it offers an option to keep the window always on top so that the user can keep the conversation on while they work on the browser tab or stack of open windows.
During a call, users can also turn the video on or off, as well as mute the microphone.
"Answering on a bigger screen makes it easier to work with colleagues, see your family more clearly on a bigger canvas, or free up your hands to move around a room while talking," WhatsApp said. To make desktop calling more useful, we made sure it works seamlessly for both portrait and landscape orientation, appears in a resizable standalone window on your computer screen, and is set to be always on top so you never lose your video chats in a browser tab or stack of open windows."
The following requirements are needed to make or receive calls on WhatsApp desktop:
- An audio output device and microphone for voice and video calls
- A camera for video calls
- An active Internet connection to your computer and phone. The call won't go through your phone, but it needs to be online to establish the call.
- To grant WhatsApp permission to access your computer's microphone and camera, WhatsApp needs access to your computer's microphone for calls and camera for video calls.
The WhatsApp Desktop calling is supported on Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer, and macOS 10.13 and newer. You can click here to download the latest version of WhatsApp Desktop with audio and video calling support.