WhatsApp’s latest feature is the ability to share your screen during video calls, similar to what’s already available via video conferencing services like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. In a press release, the Meta-owned service says the feature is available via the “Share” icon, after which you’ll have the option of either sharing your entire screen or a specific app. There’s also a new landscape mode coming for video calls on mobile.
Technology
WhatsApp’s screen-sharing feature is leaving beta
WhatsApp’s latest feature is the ability to share your screen during video calls. There’s also new landscape mode coming for video calls on mobile.
Meta’s press release highlights how the feature can be used for “sharing documents for work, browsing photos with family, planning a vacation or shopping online with friends, or just helping grandparents with tech support.” Its release comes as part of a wave of new WhatsApp features this year that have already included video notes and polls in the face of competition from messaging apps like Telegram, Signal, and arguably also Discord.
WhatsApp’s screen-sharing feature has been gradually releasing in beta for a couple of months. WABetaInfo, a publication that often spots WhatsApp features ahead of their official announcement, has previously reported on the feature’s rollout in beta versions of WhatsApp’s app on Android, iOS, and Windows. Now the feature is rolling out to all WhatsApp users globally across these three platforms, spokesperson Ellie Heatrick tells The Verge.
As well as the new screen-sharing feature, WhatsApp is also adding a landscape interface for video calls on iOS and Android. The service calls this a “wider and more immersive viewing and sharing experience.”
Update August 8th, 1:20PM ET: Updated with confirmation of platforms the features are available for.