An upcoming update could make WhatsApp the best app for video calling
An upcoming update could make WhatsApp the best app for video calling
WhatsApp looks like it’s about to up its video calling game, in a move that could make it the video calling app of choice for most people who are stuck at home, missing their friends and family.
WhatsApp group calls currently support a maximum of four people (including you) but, by digging into a beta version of the app, WABetaInfo has discovered that that limit might be about to rise to eight people.
That’s far from the most generous group video calling limit out there, but WhatsApp offers an important layer of protection that the likes of Zoom and Houseparty don’t.
Related: How to video call on WhatsApp
Just like regular WhatsApp messages, WhatsApp group calls are end-to-end encrypted, which means that only you and the people you’re calling know what’s being said or shared.
Conversations that take place over Zoom and Houseparty aren’t end-to-end encrypted. This means that, if they were to be compelled to, Zoom and Houseparty would have the ability to hand over the content of users’ calls to governmental authorities or law enforcement.
That’s a very big deal, especially because Zoom and Houseparty have come under a lot of scrutiny for various security- and privacy-related issues over the past few weeks.
Image Credit: WABetaInfo
At the end of March, some Houseparty users claimed that creating an account for the service had coincided with their accounts on other platforms, such as Spotify and Netflix, falling prey to hackers.
Houseparty immediately denied any connection, but the tone of its response felt quite crude, rather than reassuring.
“All Houseparty accounts are safe − the service is secure, has never been compromised, and doesn’t collect passwords for other sites,” the company said when the allegations came to light.
It also started offering a significant amount of money to anyone who could prove that the whole affair was “a paid commercial smear campaign”.
Zoom, meanwhile, has dropped the ball so many times over recent weeks, including falsely claiming calls were end-to-end encrypted and secretly sending users’ data to Facebook. However, it is now trying to fix its many issues.
Related: Is Zoom safe?
It isn’t clear when the participant limit for WhatsApp video calling will be raised, but we’re hoping it’ll be soon.
