WhatsApp has introduced a new feature called “call links,” which lets you join an ongoing WhatsApp call through a sharable link. WhatsApp has definitely pulled a kind of Google Meet functionality, where users can share a link for participants to join. WhatsApp isn’t widely spread app in the US, where people usually relay upon Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams apps to make video calls or hold meetings with minimal hassle. WhatsApp is known for its popular instant messaging and audio calls capabilities and across the world.
WhatsApp is indeed trying to borrow many useful features from its rival platforms. Recent reports confirmed that Meta is also working on some Telegram-like features such as Communities, multi-device support for tablets, support for large file sharing (as large as 2GB videos). If you want to explore these features, you can give a try yourself by joining the WhatsApp beta app. If you remember, Gmail limits files to 25 MB, while Twitter allows you to send media files up to 1GB.
Mark Zuckerberg has said they will be rolling out this new update which gets you a single tap link sharing for WhatsApp video calls or voice calls. With this update, the users can create a call link right within their contacts list and share it with anyone, including non-contacts, to let them join that call by just clicking or tapping said link. You can find this new feature “Create call link” in Calls tab. It seems Meta has focused on raising the video calling capabilities.
The “Call Links” feature has been under development since February 2022 and finally will be available to a wide audience beginning this week. Being able to join a call using Call Links feature on WhatsApp could really help extend its user base. Meta CEO has also confirmed their developer team is currently experimenting video calling for up to 32 users.