WhatsApp Enhances Group Interaction with Launch of New Voice Chat Feature
WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is set to enhance the group user experience by introducing a fresh feature that resembles Discord's voice chat functionality, specially tailored for larger groups. Announced on a recent Monday, this feature streamlines communication by doing away with the traditional disruptive group call mechanism that notifies every single member. Instead, voice chats are initiated subtly, appearing as a bubble within the chat that members can simply tap to join.
This innovative addition to WhatsApp will enable users to verbally communicate with anyone available to participate while simultaneously maintaining the ability to text those who are not part of the voice chat. Users are also afforded the convenience of staying in the voice chat when accessing call controls at the top of the chat for actions such as unmuting, hanging up, or even messaging within the group.
In the upcoming weeks, WhatsApp plans to progressively introduce voice chats across the globe for its larger groups, initially targeting groups comprising at least 33 members. The company has reassured users that voice chats will uphold their commitment to privacy with full end-to-end encryption.
Functionally, WhatsApp's voice chats share similarities with existing voice features on rival platforms like Discord, Telegram, and Slack. These platforms have established themselves as spaces where extensive groups can engage in vocal conversations.
This development doesn't catch observers by surprise, given that the digital news source WABetaInfo revealed the testing of voice chats in WhatsApp’s beta version as early as August.
This announcement aligns with WhatsApp's recent pattern of adding new features to its service. Among these are the implementation of functionality to operate two accounts simultaneously on the platform and the introduction of passkey support for Android devices. Additionally, a new "Flows" feature aims to streamline in-app shopping experiences by allowing direct actions such as selecting flight seats or scheduling appointments without exiting WhatsApp.
Furthermore, WhatsApp's release of this feature follows on the heels of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's remarks in a Q3 earnings call. Zuckerberg highlighted that interactions between users and businesses across Meta's suite of applications have surpassed 600 million per day. He also pointed out a significant increase in revenue, with the family of apps and other streams bringing in $293 million in the third quarter, which marks a 53% growth from the previous year, propelled mainly by the WhatsApp Business platform.
