KEY POINTS
- There is a surge in the demand for videoconferencing apps these days because of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Zoom earned its popularity as one of the most used videoconferencing platforms because of the current health crisis
- WhatsApp is preparing to challenge Zoom’s dominance with an upcoming feature
Zoom quickly became one of the most popular videoconferencing apps since the COVID-19 pandemic because of its smooth and straightforward user interface. It’s a user-friendly platform that allows multiple people to interact with each other, be it for school, business, or work. However, Zoom’s current market dominance might be challenged by WhatsApp with the rollout of a major update.
WABetaInfo, through XDA Developers, recently shared that the most recent beta version of the popular instant messaging app WhatsApp gives away hints about future changes in the app. According to the tipster, there are codes in the latest build that indicates that WhatsApp users would be able to hold calls with multiple people. There is no specific number of participants revealed, but the tipster shared that it could be an even number.
Based on the recent information, it looks like WhatsApp is considering increasing the maximum number of participants allowed in an audio or video call. This could be the company’s response to other VOIP services that offer higher participants’ limits. The popular instant messaging platform has been in the industry since 2018 and is widely used in the UK, US, and other countries in the world.
While WhatsApp introduced audio calls and video calls until now, it is only capable of holding four users in a single call. The COVID-19 pandemic sent people home, and most transactions are now happening at home using various videoconferencing apps. Zoom and Google Hangouts become staple these days with a feature that allows users to talk to up to 250 users in a single call.
The latest discovery hints that WhatsApp is improving its services to match its rivals and meet consumers’ demand. While the use of Zoom is somehow being discouraged because of some privacy and security issues, WhatsApp is also notorious when it comes to privacy and security breaches. The Facebook-owned app must ensure that vulnerabilities are fixed if it wants to penetrate the market currently dominated by Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Google Hangouts. At present, there is no available information, yet when this feature will be available to users.
