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WhatsApp tests voice and video calls on desktop version - report

Sci & Tech

By Reuters | Dec 18, 2020

A 3D printed Whatsapp logo placed on the keyboard (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has rolled out a beta version of its desktop app that features voice and video calls for the first time, according to a report by tech blog WABetaInfo.

The move to facilitate calls over large screens would put WhatsApp on par with video-conferencing bigwigs Zoom and Google Meet that have seen a meteoric rise in usage during the pandemic, but it is unclear if it has ambitions to compete with the two.

WhatsApp did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

With over 2 billion users globally, WhatsApp is second only to its parent firm Facebook Inc’s namesake app, yet it is largely used for personal calls, unlike Zoom or Google Meet..