WhatsApp Inc. has announced the incorporation of its newest feature: video-calling.
Alongside the already strong features of chat and voice messaging, this innovation represents the fulfillment of one of the main requests made by their 1 billion users worldwide. According to the company, this feature had been requested by the users since a couple of years ago, meaning that it was time to launch the project correctly before 2016 ends.
WhatsApp is not the first company to introduce this kind of tool in their chat platform. Facebook Inc. (which owns WhatsApp Inc.) has launched a similar instrument in their Messenger app. Also, Viber, Skype, Line, Apple’s Facetime and Google’s Duo are a few examples of video-calling experiences available in both computer and mobile devices.
The primary difference of this incorporation, in relation to other video-calling services, is the massive and diverse user base that WhatsApp already has.
In opposition to what companies like Apple and Google are offering, WhatsApp wins some point on inclusiveness. While Facetime only works for Apple users, and Duo only works on advanced operational software (iOS 9 and Jelly Bean), this new feature will work in a more open communicational field.
“We want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks,” the company said in a statement published on Monday.
How to use Whatsapp’s video-calling feature
To use the newest WhatsApp’s feature, users will have to hit the call button in the top right corner of the conversation in the app’s interface. It will pop up a question that says if you want to initiate a video or voice call with the selected user. Also, to stop the call, you just have to choose the “video call” option, as reported by TechCrunch.
There is the possibility of changing from frontal camera to rear camera or muting the call anytime while the call is on.
WhatsApp video-calling will be available worldwide in the coming days. Also, the company has established that its next projects are oriented toward security updates regarding personal information and authentication.
Source: Techcrunch