We are more isolated and distant (physically, at least) from friends and family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apps and social media have tried to offer options for us to stay connected and close to those who are important to us. Now it is WhatsApp, which announced that the application now supports video calls and voice calls with up to eight people. And we will learn how to make group video calls on WhatsApp on Android and iOS devices.
All calls, like text messages, are protected with end-to-end encryption. The novelty is available in the latest WhatsApp update for Android and iOS.
Matter of Necessity
Until then, it was possible to make video calls in groups of up to 4 people.
According to WhatsApp, in the last month people spent, on average, more than 15 billion minutes talking on video and voice calls in the application This, according to the company, is well above a day considered normal in times before the pandemic.
“We create group calls to make them available to as many users as possible, including people on simple devices and slow network conditions” says Whatsapp.
HOW TO MAKE GROUP VIDEO AND VOICE CALLS?
You can make calls from groups, direct conversations, and from the “calls” section.
There are some ways and there is not much mystery. You can make a call with up to eight people (depending on you) from a group, from a conversation with a contact and from the “calls” (Android) or “calls” (iOS) section in the application.
How to Make WhatsApp GROUP CALLS on ANDROID
From a group: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. If the group has up to seven members, the call automatically starts with everyone. If you have more than seven, you can choose up to seven and then choose a video or voice call.
From the conversation with a contact: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. Then click on the icon to add a contact to the call at the top right of the singer. You can choose up to seven to include in the call.
From the “Calls” section in the application: Click on the phone icon in the lower right corner and then on the “New group connection” option. Choose up to seven contacts to make the call. Then click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icons to start the call with the chosen contact group.
How to Make WhatsApp GROUP CALLS ON IOS
From a group: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. If the group has up to seven members, the call automatically starts with everyone. If you have more than seven, you can choose up to seven and then choose a video or voice call.
From the conversation with a contact: Click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icon in the upper right corner. Then click on the icon to add a contact to the call at the top right of the singer. You can choose up to seven to include in the call.
From the “calls” section in the application: Click on the phone icon in the upper right corner and then on the “New group connection” option. Choose up to seven contacts to make the call. Then click the camera (for video call) or phone (for voice call) icons to start the call with the chosen contact group. Also, make sure to see our tutorial that explains how to use WhatsApp Web.
The Race for Group Video Calls
Whatsapp is one of several applications that offer group video calls. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the growth in the demand for group calls due to social distance and quarantine, other applications have implemented (or improved) this function.
Facebook Messenger Rooms will arrive in several countries soon.
Facebook Messenger, for example, announced that it will soon allow video calls with up to 50 people at the same time. The resource will be called Messaging Rooms (or Messaging Rooms ) and anyone can participate in calls, even if they do not have an account on the social network. According to Facebook, Oh Messaging Rooms is coming to some countries soon, but the list of regions has not been released. The Messenger app is available for Windows, MacAndroid, and iOS.
Another one that has been successful is the Zoom. This success is due in part to the ease of the platform and it is possible to participate in it. video calls with just a link or code. But recently the company was involved in controversies related to security and encryption. Zoom is available as an extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and as an Android and iOS application.
Google Meet is free from May to September this year.
To compete with Zoom, Google announced that its main video calling platform, Google Meet, will be free from May to September this year. Who signs the G Suite, a cloud toolkit for business, can make video calls of up to 24 hours and with 100 participants in real-time. To use it, you don’t need to download browser programs or add-ons, just go to the Google Meet Up website to create or access a video conference directly on your computer. If you want to make your Video call Using your smartphone, just install the app, available for Android and iOS.
One video conferencing and gaming application that has also gained popularity in this quarantine era is Fiesta. With a more relaxed proposal, the idea of the application is to create a virtual party with up to eight people. The application is available for Windows (in the Google Chrome browser), MacAndroid and iOS.
