It’s inevitable that this is going to divide people.
Apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram have been increasingly ‘borrowing’ features off one another. This latest development for WhatsApp sees the popular messaging service borrow a functionality that is already available on Facebook.
According to Independent.co.uk (via WABetaInfo), WhatsApp is planning to bring voice and video calls to group chats. At the moment, you can use the app to ring contacts individually but voice and video call options are only available in one-on-one conversations. There is also no option to add more people to an ongoing call.
The app's new feature could prove useful for group chats (and the quality of calls is better on WhatsApp than Facebook anyway) but will require everyone in the group to be available to chat. It could easily lead to you and/or your friends causing trouble when feeling feeling bold or bored.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp’s group voice calls feature should roll out before the group video calls option currently being planned by Facebook called Bonfire. However, they might not appear before the end of the year, as the features still require “a lot of development” and WhatsApp “has other priorities” – including an “unsend” feature, which will let you recall messages you’ve sent within a 5 minute window.
