WhatsApp adds voice and video calling feature to desktop app

NEW YORK: Facebook's WhatsApp has introduced a voice and video calling feature on its desktop app, the company said on Thursday (Mar 4).

Users will be able to use desktop screens for calls in both portrait and landscape mode, and the calls will be end-to-end encrypted.   

"We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience. We will be expanding this feature to include group voice and video calls in the future," WhatsApp said in a statement. 

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Citing a Facebook spokesperson, TechCrunch reported that support for voice and video calls will not be extended to the web or browser version of WhatsApp.

The move to facilitate calls over large screens would put WhatsApp on par with video-conferencing bigwigs Zoom and Google Meet, but it is not clear if it has ambitions to compete with the two in the enterprise space.

WhatsApp, which recorded 1.4 billion voice and video calls on last New Year's Eve, has benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic as people around the world used video-calling apps to stay connected while sheltering themselves at home.