How to make WhatsApp video calls with up to 8 people on iPhone and Android

We are more isolated and distant (physically, at least) from friends and family, due to the pandemic of COVID-19. Applications and social networks have sought to offer options for us to stay connected and stay close to those who are important to us. Now it's the turn of WhatsApp, which announced that the app now supports video and voice calls with up to eight people.

All calls, as well as text messages, are protected with end-to-end encryption. The novelty is available in the latest update of the WhatsApp all with Android e iOS.

question of need

According to WhatsApp, in the last month people spent, on average, more than 15 billion minutes talking in video and voice calls in the app. This, according to the company, is well above a day considered normal in pre-pandemic times.

“We designed group calls to make them available to as many users as possible, including people on simple devices and slow network conditions” WhatsApp

How to make group video and voice calls?

There are a few ways and it's not much of a mystery. You can make a call with up to eight people (including you) from a group, a conversation with a contact and the “calls” (Android) or “calls” (iOS) section in the app.

Group calls on Android

• From a group: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. If the group has up to seven members, the call automatically starts with everyone. If you have more than seven, you can choose up to seven and then choose video or voice call.

• From the conversation with a contact: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. Then click the icon to add contact to the call in the top right corner. You can choose up to seven to include in the call.

• From the “Calls” section in the app: Click on the phone icon in the lower right corner and then on the “New group call” option. Choose up to seven contacts to make the call. Then click on the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icons to start the call with the chosen contact group.

Cgroup calls on iOS

• From a group: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. If the group has up to seven members, the call automatically starts with everyone. If you have more than seven, you can choose up to seven and then choose video or voice call.

• From the conversation with a contact: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. Then click the icon to add contact to the call in the top right corner. You can choose up to seven to include in the call.

• From the “links” section in the app: Click on the phone icon in the upper right corner, then on the “New group call” option. Choose up to seven contacts to make the call. Then click on the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icons to start the call with the chosen contact group.

The race of group video calling

O WhatsApp is one of several other apps that offer group video calling. With the pandemic of COVID-19 and the growth in demand for group calls due to the social distancing and quarantine, other applications have implemented (or improved) this function.

O Facebook Messenger, for example, announced that will soon allow video calls with up to 50 people at the same time. The resource will be called Messenger Rooms ( Messenger Rooms) and anyone will be able to participate in the calls, even if they don't have an account on the social network. According to Facebook, Messenger Rooms will arrive in some countries soon, but the list of regions has not been revealed. the application of Messenger is available for Windows, Mac, Android e iOS.

Another that has been successful is the Zoom. This success comes in part because of the ease of the platform, because users do not need to create an account to use it and it is possible to participate in video calls with just a link or code. But recently the company involved in controversies related to security and encryption. O Zoom is available as an extension for Google Chrome e Mozilla Firefox and as an application for Android e iOS.

To compete with the Zoom, Google announced that its flagship video calling platform, the Google Meet, will be free from May until September this year. who signs the G Suite, a cloud toolset for businesses, can do video calls from to 24h and com 100 participants In real time. To use it, you don't need to download programs or plugins for browsers, just access the Google Meet to create or access a video conference directly from your computer. If you want to do your Video call using your smartphone, simply install the app, available for Android e iOS.

A video conferencing and gaming app that is also gaining popularity in this time of quarantine is House party. With a more relaxed proposal, the idea of ​​the application is to create a virtual party with up to eight people. The app is available for Windows (in browser Google Chrome), Mac, Android e iOS.

Source: WhatsApp