WhatsApp Desktop Beta Begins Testing Video Calls With Up to 32 People: Details

WhatsApp will soon raise the 8-person limit for video calls on the desktop version of the popular chat platform.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 30 June 2023 12:24 IST

Photo Credit: Reuters

WhatsApp has not announced a release date for the new desktop video calling limits

Highlights

WhatsApp has begun testing new limits for video calls on the desktop app
The chat app will soon allow users to make video calls with 32 people
WhatsApp recently discontinued support for its older Electron-based app

WhatsApp has reportedly raised the limit on group video calls on the latest beta version of WhatsApp for desktop. The popular Meta-owned chat platform previously allowed video calls with up to 8 users, and the company is expected to increase this number by four times for all users on the desktop application with a future update. WhatsApp recently discontinued support for its older Electron-based desktop software, which means that Windows users will now have to install the app from the Microsoft Store.

Spotted on WhatsApp beta for Windows 2.2324.1.0 by feature tracker WABetaInfo, the platform has begun testing the ability to start video calls with up to 32 people. WhatsApp Desktop users can currently make audio calls and video calls with 32 people and 8 people via the Windows application, but an upcoming update is expected to raise the limit for all users, once beta testing for the feature has concluded.

WhatsApp beta testers see a prompt to make video calls with 32 people
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

The feature tracker adds that some WhatsApp users who have installed the latest beta version of the desktop app will be prompted to start an audio or video call with contacts or groups with up to 32 people. However, not all users on the latest beta will see the message, suggesting that it is enabled via a server-side update.

How to Silence Unknown Callers on WhatsApp for iOS and Android

Users who want to test the ability to initiate group calls with up to 32 people can download the latest WhatsApp beta for Windows update from the Microsoft Store. Unlike the beta versions on WhatsApp for Android iOS, users do not have to sign up for beta updates and it is possible to install the stable and beta versions of the app concurrently on the same device.

In a recent report, WABetaInfo revealed that WhatsApp has discontinued support for the WhatsApp Desktop app for Windows that was based on Electron. This means that all WhatsApp users who were running the older version will now have to install the native app from the Microsoft Store. It is worth noting that the ability to start a video call with up to 32 people will be available to users on an upcoming version of the native app via the app store.

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Further reading: WhatsApp, WhatsApp Desktop, WhatsApp beta for Windows, WhatsApp Beta, WhatsApp Features

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More