This new feature is now available for testing on WhatsApp Beta. Learn all about this tool and find out how it will work!
The messaging app that is popular with Brazilians is testing a new feature that should be available to all users soon. This time, WhatsApp, which is launching several features to improve its functionality and user experience, will be focusing on “voice chats” with up to 32 participants at a time.
The feature will initially be rolled out to Android Beta users for testing purposes. If the tests go as expected, the feature should be officially rolled out to other users soon.
Learn more about this new app feature and see how it will work!
Voice chats on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow the creation of a voice chat with up to 32 users. The feature is different from the voice calls already existing in the app and resembles an audio room, where any participant in the group can send voice messages.
The tests were reported by the WABetaInfo platform and are available in version 2.23.16.19 of WhatsApp Beta, but there is still no official release date for the new feature.
The platform also announced that a sound wave icon will represent the new function, and will serve as a shortcut to open a new voice chat within groups. After starting the new voice channel, an interface will be applied at the top of the screen, indicating that a conversation is taking place.
A microphone icon on the screen will allow the user to send messages audio, while another button will allow him to leave the chat. Also according to the information on the website, any member who is part of the group will be able to send messages.
If no user sends messages within an hour, the chat will automatically end. However, any user can start a new chat at any time if they wish.
According to the information, the chats will be protected by end-to-end encryption, which will guarantee the security of the content transmitted in the conversation. With this, only the group participants will have access to the audios.
Unlike voice calls in the app, the chat user will not receive a call notification. They will receive a silent notification informing them about the creation of the channel. And then, anyone interested in participating can join.
Clubhouse
WhatsApp's new feature is very similar to Clubhouse, a social network launched in 2020 with the aim of bringing people together to talk about various topics. On the network, the host would open a chat room and share topics with the guests.
Clubhouse was launched with a version only for iPhone users, and the Android version arrived just a year later. The social network grew significantly after its launch, but ended up losing ground some time later.
And now, with the arrival of the new feature on WhatsApp, the network could sink even further, as the use of the application is more common, thanks to its popularity, with more than two billion users worldwide.
News
WhatsApp recently launched a new feature, which is already available to some users. The new feature allows users to send video messages, by clicking on the audio microphone icon, which will be replaced by a camera.
This way, users will be able to send audio messages of up to 60 seconds in the chat, in a round format, unlike sending videos, a feature that already exists in the app. Users can also record the video message by swiping the camera icon upwards.
The video message will be played automatically in the chat, but without the audio. To listen to the video audio, the user will need to click on the message.
The feature, which is new to WhatsApp, has been available on Telegram since 2018 and was highly anticipated by users. The feature is not yet available to all users, but it should arrive in the coming weeks, as the app is gradually releasing the feature.
