There have been rumours swirling around for months now that WhatsApp would eventually bring the much sought-after feature of voice and video calls to the desktop version of the instant messaging app. Yet with all the fuss and trouble of the changes coming to the app’s terms and conditions update, it seems that it was placed on the back-burner.

That is, until now. WhatsApp is currently rolling out an update that will finally bring the feature users have been clamouring after for months now. It would probably have been more useful in the thick of hard lockdown but better late than never.

WhatsApp has confirmed that this early version of the feature will only work for one-on-one calls but as development continues it hopes to bring voice and video calls to groups. It doesn’t seem like the app will be able to compete with the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams but it might give Skype another kick in the teeth.

WhatsApp picks up the phone

WhatsApp has stated that calls on the desktop version of the app are, by default, “set to be always on top so you never lose your video chats in a browser tab or stack of open windows.” It’s worth mentioning that this functionality has yet to be brought over to WhatsApp Web, the browser-based version of app. So if you want to make use of it, you better get on that download.

Of course, while the addition of calls to WhatsApp Desktop is a solid one, it’s probably not enough to pull back all those users that fled the Facebook-owned app in January. Telegram has offered voice and video calls in its desktop app for some time now so the inclusion of the feature probably won’t do much to convince disgruntled users to overlook that rather intrusive privacy policy change.

Source: TechCrunch