If you thought group chats in WhatsApp were annoying enough already, just you wait.
The Meta-owned platform, which is now the world’s most popular instant messaging platform with over 200 million users, is about to roll out an update on how groups can communicate - giving you even more notifications to keep on top of.
The fresh update arrives in the form of a new voice chat feature, unsurprisingly named Voice Chats, which means users will be able to join voice calls as part of larger group conversations.
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It’s good news for anyone who likes to chat to multiple people at once – especially since it allows for easier entry and exit from the conversation and doesn’t limit the ability to message when the calls are in progress.
Announced quietly in the WhatsApp Help Center, the Voice Chats feature has been in beta testing for some time but - now officially confirmed - should finally start rolling out to users soon.
According to WhatsApp, the feature has been designed to offer a different experience compared to the existing option of voice calling in groups of up to 32 users. Unlike traditional group calls where people are automatically rung, Voice Chat will notify group members via a push notification that someone in the group wants to chat. App users can then join the chat by tapping an in-chat bubble, allowing for a more casual real-time chatting experience. Or they can just as easily choose to ignore it, naturally.
While it’s not available to most users just yet, the rollout of Voice Chat will apparently begin in the coming weeks on both iOS and Android platforms. Initially, it will be available to larger group chats, specifically those with 33 to 128 members – but it will likely be rolled out to everyone else in due course.
This comes just weeks after the messaging platform announced its users will soon be able to give someone the digital silent treatment easier than ever.
On top of the news of beefed-up encryption, Whatsapp announced you’ll have the ability to leave groups silently, hide your online status from certain people, or even hide it from absolutely everyone.
According to Meta, Whatsapp users should expect to see these privacy updates hitting their phones within the coming months.