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WhatsApp Video Calling Is Here, Optimised for India's Connectivity Issues

WhatsApp Video Calling Is Here, Optimised for India's Connectivity Issues 6ic3k

By Kunal Dua | Updated: 16 November 2016 08:23 IST

Highlights

WhatsApp made the announcement at an event in New Delhi
WhatsApp video calling will work just like voice calling
WhatsApp also said India is its biggest market with 160 million s

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Starting today, WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in India, will let you make video calls; just like FaceTime and Skype, the calls will be free, though if you aren't on Wi-Fi you may have of course to pay for cellular data usage, depending on your plan. The video calling feature will be available to Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone s via an app update later on Tuesday. 411r2h

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, also announced that it has over 160 monthly million active s in India, making the country its biggest market. WhatsApp says the new video calling service is optimised to work in regions like India, where s often struggle with poor Internet connectivity. "[...] we want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks," WhatsApp added.

"We’re obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones," Koum said.

Just like WhatsApp messages and voice calls, video calls will be fully encrypted end-to-end, making it technically impossible for the company or government authorities to read messages or listen to calls. The new video calling service will thus provide another means for people to communicate without fear of eavesdropping though WhatsApp does retain other data such as an individual's list of s.

(Also see: Eight WhatsApp Features That Would Make 160 Million Indians Very Happy)

The video calling feature, which has been get access by following these steps.

With the addition of video calling, WhatsApp will compete with the likes of Apple's Duo - among others - for a share of the video calling market. WhatsApp started as a text messaging service, and as its popularity grew, it has added features like voice calling - introduced in March last year - and now it has added video calling.

Written with inputs from Reuters

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