The WhatsApp instant messaging application continues to evolve. The Meta-owned company is working on a new “audio chats” feature, which will be a group voice calling service that it hopes will become an alternative to platforms like Discord.
As published by WaBetaInfo, WhatsApp will add this ‘Audio Chat’ function to existing groups. This new chat modality has already been seen in one of the preliminary versions of the application. Currently, the application already allows group audio or video calls, although with restrictions on the number of participants.
Although many details about this functionality are still unknown, it is intuited that it will be similar to Twitter’s ‘Spaces’ or Discord rooms, where participants in a group audio call must ask to speak in order to express themselves.
The option would allow all WhatsApp users to join this chat either as listeners or as active participants. The new functionality is expected to allow audio-only conversations without involving making a call, just browsing a conversation while listening in real time to other people within the group.
In addition, audio chats would also include voice notes that could only be heard once, as is the case with photos or videos.
At the moment, this new function is not yet active, and has only been seen in version 2.23.7.12 of the WhatsApp beta for Android.
Despite having more than 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp continues to experiment and innovate with new features to offer its customers a comprehensive service tailored to their needs.
The company continues to work on new features, such as sharing photos without losing quality, publishing a Newsletter in the application, or sending messages to yourself as a reminder.
