WhatsApp rolls out new voice chat feature

California: WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature of voice chats to communicate in groups which is available to some beta testers.

According to details, WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.7.12 update will allow group participants a new way to initiate voice calls.

WhatsApp had stated that the feature may appear unclear as there was no detailed information about how it works.

However, latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.16.19 update from the Google Play Store, WhatsApp is rolling out audio chats, now called voice chats, to some beta testers.

The screenshot shared by WhatsApp showed that a new voice waveform icon may be visible within a group chat in case the feature is enabled for the account and compatible with the group.

Tapping on this icon will automatically start the voice chat, and a dedicated interface will appear.

Anyone in the group chat can join the voice chat at any time and start speaking. If the voice chat remains empty, it will automatically end after 60 minutes if no one joins. However, anyone can still start another voice chat at any time.

It’s important to note that voice chats are only accessible to certain groups. Generally, they might be available in groups with more than 32 participants (though only up to 32 participants might be able to join a voice chat).

However, it’s worth noting that this configuration may vary depending on the user.

The primary advantage of voice chats is that they allow for initiating a call without ringing the phone of each participant in the group.

Nevertheless, every group participant will still get a silent push notification when a new voice chat is created in their groups, and the group icon will display a small thumbnail representing a voice chat within the chat list.

It’s important to highlight that voice chats are also protected by end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only the participants of a voice call can listen to its contents.

The ability to start voice chats is available to some users that install the latest WhatsApp beta for Android updates from the Google Play Store, and it is rolling out to even more people over the coming days.

However, this appears as a wider release so some users on stable version of the app might be able to experiment with the same feature.