But announcing desktop calling on Thursday, WhatsApp said it had seen 1.4 billion voice and video calls on a single day, New Year's Eve. It stressed that calls on desktop remain end-to-end encrypted, so that no other party, including WhatsApp itself, can intercept communication.įacebook does not provide data on how many calls are made via WhatsApp. We will be expanding this feature to include group voice and video calls in the future.' 'We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience. 'Answering on a bigger screen makes it easier to work with colleagues, see your family more clearly on a bigger canvas, or free up your hands to move around a room while talking,' WhatsApp said in its announcement of the feature. Your phone will require an active internet connection in order for calls to be established, WhatsApp warns, though the actual call will not be routed via a phone it will use the internet connection of the desktop machine only.Īs with WhatsApp calling from a mobile phone, a voice call can be converted to a video call with the permission of the other participant.

Whatsapp call on desktop