Thank you for subscribing!
WhatsApp could be giving Zoom and Google Meet fresh competition. The vigilant team over at WABetaInfo spotted that iPhone users will soon be able to add people to voice or video calls without having an account with the Meta-owned chat app.
WABetaInfo says WhatsApp is calling these "guest calls," and they work with the same end-to-end encryption that protects regular WhatsApp conversations.
Guest calls plan to keep everything on WhatsApp, even when the other person isn't a user. Those without an account also won't need to download the app or access the web browser either.
This could be a great addition, because despite WhatsApp boasting more than three billion accounts worldwide, not everyone uses it. Maybe a colleague prefers a different messaging app, or a client hasn't signed up. Until now, that meant switching to another platform entirely just to have a conversation.
Creating a link for a voice or video call appears easy. WABetaInfo says you need to open the Calls tab, create a call link, and pick whether you want voice or video. From there, you can share it through WhatsApp, copy it, or send it via another app. There's also an option to add the call to your calendar.
If you don't have an account and click that call link, it looks like WhatsApp loads the call interface right in your browser — no sign-up required.
There's one important catch, though. Anyone joining without an account must be approved by the host before they're let in. This is mandatory, and it's there to stop uninvited people from sneaking into calls if the link gets shared around. This is ideal, especially since other platforms like Microsoft Teams have had issues with malicious robots entering calls in the past.
Behind the scenes, WhatsApp generates a unique encryption key from the guest's browser session rather than from an account, keeping everything properly secured.
It's worth noting that WABetaInfo says this feature is still being developed and hasn't been switched on for testers yet. There's no confirmed public release date, so we'll have to sit tight.
This doesn't appear to be the first time WhatsApp has tried to let outsiders access calls. WABetaInfo also said the platform was testing guest chats earlier this year, which let users invite non-account holders into text conversations through a secure browser link.
WhatsApp recently made it easier to make calls straight from your browser.
There's no need to download an app to your Windows or Mac computer. Just launch WhatsApp Web in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, or your web browser of choice, and you'll now have an (almost) identical set of features to the iPhone and Android app.
Until now, WhatsApp Web has been hampered by a smaller set of features.
Whether it's a one-on-one voice call or a group video call, you can now do it all from WhatsApp Web. If you're a student using a shared computer, stuck on a work laptop that won't let you install apps, or logging into a machine at the library or a friend's house, you can hop on a call without ever leaving your browser.
