WhatsApp is rolling out a bunch of interesting new features to use over the last couple of weeks. The new additions will benefit both everyday consumer users and business users. Will Cathcart, WhatsApp's chief, sent out a recent tweet to tease the upcoming new features that are now rolling out.
Among them is the ability to mute users in group calls. This is arguably a necessary feature for any video chat solution that wants to be taken seriously as an enterprise tool. Not only does being able to mute participants on a group call help manage verbal communication clarity, but it also allows chat meeting admins to silence spammers.
Services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom already have this feature. WhatsApp is not really directly competing with these providers, although there is no doubt the Meta company does want to appeal to more business users.
Abilities for muting will include being able to mute individuals or a section of users at the same time. There will be a mute button put on each participant on a call, allowing admins to choose who to mute as they please.
Some new features for group calls on @WhatsApp: You can now mute or message specific people on a call (great if someone forgets to mute themselves!), and we've added a helpful indicator so you can more easily see when more people join large calls. pic.twitter.com/fxAUCAzrsy
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) June 16, 2022
More Options
There will also be an individual option for each participant to send a message. Group call admins will be able to reach out to specific users when necessary. This is ideal for private contact with an individual instead of speaking to the whole group.
Also in group meetings, a new indicator will subtly happen to show when someone new joins the group video chat.
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