New Delhi, Apr 29: WhatsApp on Tuesday said it will now allow up to eight people to connect on a group video call as an increasing number of people turn to digital platforms to connect with friends and family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Facebook-owned company said over the last month, people on average are spending over 15 billion minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls, well above a typical day before the pandemic.
"...we see that people all over the world are turning to voice and video calling on WhatsApp more than ever before. Group calling has been particularly useful and our users have asked to connect with more people at once," WhatsApp said in a blogpost.
Starting Tuesday, the company is doubling the number of participants one can have on a WhatsApp video or voice call from 4 to 8 people at a time, it added.
WhatsApp emphasised that like written messages, all calls on its platform are protected with end-to-end encryption.
"We have built group calling in a way that makes it available for as many users as possible, including people on lower-end devices and slow network conditions," it added.
Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths
WhatsApp said that to access the new, higher participant limit on WhatsApp calls, all participants in a call need to update to the latest version of WhatsApp available on iPhone or Android.
Video calling tools like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and others have also seen a significant jump in userbase and traffic as people connect while maintaining social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Last week, Facebook had introduced Messenger Rooms that will soon hold up to 50 people with no time limit.
It had added that the company will also add ways to create rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal.
Noting that between WhatsApp and Messenger, more than 700 million accounts participate in calls every day, Facebook had said, adding that video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled in many countries.
Also, views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos have also increased significantly in March, it said.
Comments
May be because of infected Gomoothra
JINU...
How did U come into being... QURAN speaks on our CREATOR who created all that exits... and It asks us to use our intellectual which ALLAH has given us. I request you to PONDER on what it says...
Please read the QURAN once & research what it says... Dont just sit idle and make your own asumption. living a life of unaware... about the CREATOR will be worse than animals..
May God help them all! They are all innocents.
Devaru kotta prasada beda annbardu...! May be some sanghi poojaris' wanted to cut down cost for his selfishness. Probe needed.
May the victims recover soon!
I agree, believing blindly doesnt make sense... But God has given intellectual to human being and he created us to worship him alone... Y dont we use our intellectual to know who is worthy of Worship rather than worshiping idols and animals...
Even in vedas, it say that those who worship such things are in DARKNESS...So to come out of such DARKNESS ... the idols or man made god worshipers should try to know who is GOD and Y we need IDOLs to reach GOD...
God says he is near to any caller, there is no need keep any life less object and ask with it... in other sense U can call him by saying \O the one who put soul in me, who gave life to me ...Guide me.No doubt his help will come to those who trust him... Try it."
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