WhatsApp today announced that it is adding one of the most-requested features to its messaging client: video calling. The company has announced that “in the coming days” it will be rolling out video calling feature for its users. The feature will be available for Android, Windows Phone, and iOS versions of the app.
For now, WhatsApp is only allowing users to place one-on-one video calls, with no mention of when it plans on adding group video calling to the service. The process to make a video call on WhatsApp remains the same as voice calling. However, when you tap on the call icon, you will be greeted with the option to either make a video call or voice call.
Do note that the other party with whom you are trying to do a video call with must also be on the latest version of the app that enables the video calling functionality. If not, the video call will fail.
Considering that WhatsApp is more popular in countries with poor and slow data connectivity like India and Brazil, it is likely that WhatsApp has optimized its video calling feature to work properly on spotty data and Wi-Fi connections.
Over the last year or so, the Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been continuously adding new features to its messaging platform that have been available on competing platforms all this while. This includes end-to-end encryption, ability to send any files, GIF support, voice calling, and more.