Ever missed a call organised on WhatsApp? You're not alone, as teams at the messaging service — used by a whopping 3 billion people every month — have launched several new features that'll transform how you organise and participate in group conversations on WhatsApp.
First, you can now schedule calls in advance, which means no more last-minute scrambles to get everyone together. Setting up a scheduled call is straightforward. You'll find a plus button in your tab – tap it and select to get started.
From there, you can invite individuals or entire groups to join at a specific time.
Your scheduled calls will appear in the Calls tab, complete with participant lists and shareable call links
|WHATSAPP PRESS OFFICE
Your scheduled calls will appear in the Calls tab, complete with participant lists and shareable call links. You can add these to your personal calendar or send them to others who need to join.
The platform has also improved call links, so you'll be notified as soon as someone joins your call. And yes, everything remains protected by end-to-end encryption.
The best part? Everyone invited gets a notification before the call starts, so there's no excuse for anyone to miss it.
During calls, you'll be able to raise your hand when you want to speak without talking over others. This is closer to what you'd expect from platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams.
WhatsApp has also introduced clever ways to make group calls more engaging.
There's also a reactions feature that lets you respond without making a sound. Think of it as the video call equivalent of emojis - you can notify other participants without disrupting the conversation.
For those creating call links, you'll receive alerts whenever someone joins through your link. And if you're worried about privacy, rest assured that all these new features work with WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption still in place.
When you're composing a message, you'll notice Writing Help will have a small pencil icon appearing in your chat window to suggest different style messages | WHATSAPP PRESS OFFICE
WhatsApp is constantly launching new updates and features, too. Most recently, it came out with the ability to . Called Writing Help, WhatsApp can transform your texts with Artificial Intelligence (AI) while keeping your conversations completely private.
This new tool allows you to rewrite messages entirely to adjust tone or correct spelling mistakes. For example, you'll be able to make your texts sound more professional for work chats, ask the AI to add some humour to lighten the mood with friends, or craft supportive responses when friends need encouragement.
have also been added to help keep fraudsters out of your messages.