WhatsApp just got some new group call features

Group calls on WhatsApp aren’t new, but if you do use the feature frequently, then you might be interested to learn that according to a Twitter post by WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, it looks like the company has pushed out a new update to group calls that will be giving it additional features.

This includes how users can now mute other users during a group call. This feature isn’t just limited to whoever started the call or for admins and anyone can mute another person during a call. This might be useful if the other person was supposed to mute their audio but forgot, so this will save users time trying to let the person know that they should be muted.

Some new features for group calls on @WhatsApp: You can now mute or message specific people on a call (great if someone forgets to mute themselves!), and we've added a helpful indicator so you can more easily see when more people join large calls. pic.twitter.com/fxAUCAzrsy

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) June 16, 2022

Another feature that is part of the update includes the ability to directly and privately message one of the users during a group call. This is also a pretty useful feature where if during a call you need to have a word with someone in the call privately, you can reach out to them via the group call interface and send them a DM.

There are also now banner notifications to let users know when someone else has joined a group call. This might come in handy for larger group calls where there might be too many users to keep track of. The update should already be live and rolling out, so keep an eye out for it if this is something you think could be useful for your day to day use.