WhatsApp Upgrades Group Voice Chats with New Functionalities

A few months ago, we reported that WhatsApp is working on a feature, audio chats. With this feature, WhatsApp had plans to offer group participants a new way to initiate voice calls. At that time, there was no detailed information about how it worked. Now, thanks to the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.16.19 update from the Google Play Store, we get more details about the feature. WhatsApp is rolling out audio chats in, now called voice chats, to some beta testers.

WhatsApp Upgrades Group Voice Chats with New Functionalities

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A new voice waveform icon may be visible within a group chat in case the feature is enabled for the account and compatible with the group. Tapping on this icon will automatically start the voice chat, and a dedicated interface will appear. Anyone in the group chat can join the voice chat at any time and start speaking. If the voice chat remains empty, it will automatically end after 60 minutes if no one joins. However, anyone can still start another voice chat at any time.

According to WABetaInfo, initially, only 32 people can participate in voice chat. Generally, they might be available in groups with more than 32 participants. It’s important to highlight that voice chats are also protected by end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only the participants of a voice call can listen to its contents.

The ability to start voice chats is available to some users that install the latest WhatsApp beta for Android updates from the Google Play Store. It is rolling out to even more people over the coming days.

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