WhatsApp may be famous for its messaging service, but its calling functionality has also grown in popularity in recent years. The Facebook-owned company launched the ability to make a voice call using Android and iOS smartphones in 2015, which were the first to have this feature.
Since then, users around the world have made millions of calls using WhatsApp and recently broke their own record of more than 1.4 billion voice and video calls on New Years Eve 2020, most of them in a single day.
Now this feature seems to be getting even more useful as WhatsApp confirms that voice and video calls are being transferred to the desktop app. This means that Windows 10 and Apple Mac users can now call a friend for free anywhere in the world without reaching for their smartphone.
WhatsApp says, to make desktop calling more useful, it made it work seamlessly in both portrait and landscape modes, appears in a self-contained resizable window on your computer screen, and is always on top for you to watch your video -Chats never lose a browser tab or a stack of open windows.
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In a post on his blog, WhatsApp said, “Over the past year we’ve seen a significant increase in people calling each other on WhatsApp, often for long conversations.
“Last New Year’s Eve, we broke the record for the most calls in a single day, with 1.4 billion voice and video calls. With so many people still separated from loved ones and adjusting to new ways of working, we want to talk to you WhatsApp to feel as intimate as possible, no matter where you are in the world or what technology you are using.
“We hope that people will enjoy talking to their friends and families privately and securely on the desktop.”
Here’s what you need to make desktop calls on WhatsApp
• A PC with Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer
• A Mac with macOS 10.13 and newer
• An audio output device and microphone for voice and video calls.
• A camera for video calls.
• An active internet connection on your computer and phone. The call is not handled on your phone, but must be online to place the call.
NOTE: To give WhatsApp permission to access your computer’s microphone and camera. WhatsApp needs access to your computer’s microphone for calls and the camera for video calls.
