What happened: WhatApp, the instant messaging app, has launched video calling.
Who is involved: WhatsApp, its users
When did it take place: 25th October 2016
Where did it take place: Worldwide
Why did that happen: WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, has finally launched video calling – a much-awaited feature for its Android users. This feature is currently available only to beta testers of Android OS.
WhatsApp already has a calling feature enabled but this was only for voice calls and not video calls. WhatApp’s core feature still remains instant messaging but recently it has entered into VoIP as well (voice over internet protocol) for voice calling over the application which has been a success.
This feature was introduced for Windows Mobile a week ago and there is no news as to when the update will be out for users using the iPhone.
It is extremely easy to use the feature. Click on the contact you want to call and choose between video and voice call. Once the call has been connected, you can choose to use the front or the back camera during the call to talk to the other person.
WhatsApp also has a feature where you can reduce data being used during call which helps save data.It is worth knowing that the calling feature that WhatsApp has, has been outsourced to another company and WhatsApp doesn’t take care of the calls over the app.
Video calling over WhatsApp will definitely be a game changer for the company because it will be able to crush its nearest competitor for video calling – Skype.
You can even add emojis on the pictures and videos using WhatsApp which were key features of Snapchat.
Some time back, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion, one of the most expensive deals ever and Facebook is slowly trying to change how WhatsApp works – something we have seen from voice calling feature, to video calling, to adding emojis in media shared over WhatsApp.
