WhatsApp launches desktop audio, video calling for Windows and macOS users

Instant messenger app, WhatsApp, amidst all the speculations around user privacy and data sharing, has launched a new feature for millions of users - one-to-one private calling via the desktop. This feature, which was spotted weeks ago, is already available on the WhatsApp desktop app.

“Throughout the last year we've seen significant increases in people calling one another on WhatsApp, often for long conversations. Last New Year’s Eve, we broke the record for the most calls ever made in a single day with 1.4 billion voice and video calls. With so many people still apart from their loved ones, and adjusting to new ways of working, we want conversations on WhatsApp to feel as close to in-person as possible, regardless of where you are in the world or the tech you’re using,” said the firm.

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The company claims that answering calls on a bigger screen, using the desktop, will be easier for users to talk with colleagues, see other friends and family members more clearly. They can even move around the room while calling, making them more productive. The firm says that it’s new calling feature from desktop works on both portrait and landscape orientation, appears in a resizable standalone window on the computer screen and is set on top so you can keep chatting on video while you work on tabs and windows in the background.

WhatsApp does mention that these video and audio calls are end-to-end encrypted. It added that this feature will be expanded to include group voice and video calls in the future.

Desktop calling on WhatsApp is supported on Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer, and macOS 10.13 and newer. You will have to give access to the computer's microphone and camera for audio and video calls.