WhatsApp Rolls Out New Effects for Video Calls, Group Calling Improvements

WhatsApp is rolling out several new features to improve the audio and video calling experience on desktop and mobile platforms ahead of the holiday season, the company announced on Thursday. The social media platform now lets users pick from even more effects in video calls. Further, it adds the ability to select specific participants for calls in group chats. WhatsApp also claims to improve the calling experience by introducing higher-resolution video.

WhatsApp Adds 10 Effects for Video Calls

In a blog post, WhatsApp detailed the new features on desktop and mobile platforms. The company highlighted that users can now pick from 10 effects in video calls, including puppy ears, underwater, and a karaoke microphone. In group chats, users can select specific participants for calls without disrupting the entire chat.

The social media platform says that it brings more options to the Calls tab on the WhatsApp desktop app. There are now options for starting a call, creating a call link, and dialling a number. It also introduces higher-resolution video calling with a clearer picture in individual as well as group calls.

Notably, these features add to the recent introductions on WhatsApp in recent months.

WhatsApp previously introduced typing indicators for real-time engagement in chats earlier this month. Visual cues appear in chats along with the profile picture of the user who's typing when they are engaged in active conversations in both one-to-one and group chats. The feature is claimed to be particularly useful when multiple users are typing simultaneously in group chats.

Further, it also rolled out voice message transcripts last month. This is said to make sending voice messages a more convenient process. The feature provides users with a text-based transcription of the voice message received from others. However, only the recipient can see a transcript of the voice message and not the sender. WhatsApp emphasises that transcripts are generated on-device and no one else can hear or read its content.