WhatsApp this week: Voice, video calling gets support for 8 people on Android, iOS

WhatsApp has update its Android and iOS-based apps. Now up to 8 participants can join an audio or a video call.

WhatsApp is also bringing multi-device support to its platform soon. (REUTERS)

WhatsApp has been working on a number of features off lately. The company has already announced that Messenger Rooms will soon be making their way to WhatsApp. In addition to this, the company has also rolled out a new sticker pack on its platform. This week, the company took this trend a step further and introduced a bunch of other features on its Android and iOS based apps.

Let's take a look at them one by one.

Status updates are visible to all the contacts in a user's contact list. As of now there is no way for users to restrict the visibility of their status updates from people they don't want them to see. But that might change soon as WhatsApp is planning to introduce a feature that will enable users to exclude some people in their contact list from seeing their status updates. According to WABetaInfo, the blog that tracks development in the social messaging app, the company is planning to introduce a 'Hide' button in the view list that would allow users to hide their status updates easily.

 

You can easily exclude contacts from receiving your status updates using the "Hide" side button in the views list.#WhatsAppTips pic.twitter.com/Ga0z5JR0gW

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) April 27, 2020

One major change that came to WhatsApp this week was an increase in the limit of participants who can join video and audio calls. Prior to this, up to four users could join in a video or an audio call. This feature is available on the company's Android and iOS based apps. Now, up to eight people can participate in a video or an audio call. This feature is available on the company's Android and iOS based apps. Here is how you can use it.

Lastly, we got more details about the multi-device support, a feature which has been in the news for quite some time now. To give you a brief about the feature, the multi-device support feature allows users to use the same WhatsApp account on multiple devices at the same time. As per the blog site, the company is offering a 'Scan QR Code' option on its iOS based app that would presumably allow users to log into their WhatsApp accounts. On Android, the company is showing a connect to a Wi-Fi network option. However, the purpose of the feature remains uncertain. Once implemented, all of users' communication will be automatically synced on all the connected devices. It is worth noting that this feature is still in development and there is no word on when it will arrive in the main app.