WhatsApp improves voice call, allows muting & private messaging in group calls

WhatsApp, the Meta-owned text and voice messaging app, gets some modern updates to its voice call functions which roll out beginning today. You can now privately message participants to switch off their TV playing in the background during a 32-person group voice call. If they refuse to comply, you can also just mute them.

• Here are the three new features you have access to in WhatsApp voice calls, as well as five other features that have been rolled out recently for voice calls.
• Banner notification when someone joins a group call. The pop-up banner announcing "X joined the call" will help you avoid blunders when you decide to badmouth X thinking X is not in the call.
• Muting others in a group call. You can shut out people who continue to disrespect the group by having their TV blasting at max in the background. Or just shut out people you don't like.
• Private message someone in a group call. You can now message a particular participant while still not missing out on the big group conversation. Rip fomo.

And here are five others functions that have been introduced earlier that you can already utilise in WhatsApp.

• 32 people group voice calls. Up from eight people before this, the new 32 people limit is nice but can be chaotic if everyone wants to talk at once. Well, there's always the mute function…
• Hands-free voice recording. Now, you can hold down the microphone icon and swipe up to lock your recording mode; also allows pausing and resuming your recording before you tap send. More reasons to go on your hour-long soliloquy.
• Voice message reviewing. You can check your voice message before sending it to make sure you didn't accidentally capture background sounds you don't want to be included. No editing though so you'll have to redo the message.
• Flexible playback. Listen to that hour-long soliloquy from your friend without being locked into that one message. You can listen to the voice message with the out-of-chat playback while you respond to other messages. Also, supports pausing and resuming.
• Faster playback. Hour-long soliloquy taking too long? Run it back at 1.5x or 2x the speed. Or just tell the sender to send something shorter next time.

You'll have these WhatsApp voice call improvements via free updates shortly if they aren't already on your app. WhatsApp has also allowed users to sort out their chat groups into communities, as well as finally giving users the ability to emote-react to chat messages. Meanwhile, Apple has made it easier for Android users to transfer to iOS, months after the opposite was in place.

ALSO READ: Apple adds WhatsApp transfer to Move to iOS app for those leaving Android ecosystem

This article was first published in Geek Culture.