Meta-owned WhatsApp is ready to take on Discord with a 32-member voice chat feature. The ability is now available for Android beta testers. According to notes shared by WhatsApp beta tracking site WABetaInfo, the messaging platform is rolling out voice chats, a new feature to communicate in your groups, and it’s available to some beta testers running beta version for Android 2.23.16.19. This would be similar to Discord and Telegram chats.
"...thanks to the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.16.19 update from the Google Play Store, WhatsApp is rolling out audio chats, now called voice chats, to some beta testers, and we discovered important details about how this feature works," WABetaInfo wrote on its page.
The feature that is being tested may appear like a new voice waveform icon within a group chat, in case the feature is enabled for the account and compatible with the group. Tapping on this icon would automatically start the voice chat, and a dedicated interface would appear. Anyone in the group chat can join the voice chat at any time and start speaking. If the voice chat remains empty, it will automatically end after 60 minutes if no one joins. However, anyone can still start another voice chat at any time.
It’s important to note that voice chats are only accessible to certain groups.
Generally, they might be available in groups with more than 32 participants (though only up to 32 participants might be able to join a voice chat). However, it’s worth noting that this configuration may vary depending on the user.
WhatsApp introduces new features from time to time and in the latest, it is working to introduce the ability to verify their accounts with email IDs, in a bid to help users protect their accounts from hackers.
This would be an optional feature and not the one that asks for the email address when configuring the two-step verification. The feature is currently being tested in beta for Android. A new security feature to protect your account using an email address is under development and it will be released in a future update of the app. As always, we plan to publish an additional article when we have further details about this feature to share with you, WABetaInfo wrote on its web page.