WhatsApp update – Three radical changes coming to messaging service you need to know about

Video calling

In addition to changing how users interact with businesses, the Facebook-owned company also radically changed how they interact with friends and family.

On Tuesday WhatsApp added group video calls to its arsenal of functionality.

The new feature allows up to four people to chat in a single video call within the hugely popular app.

Announcing the feature, WhatsApp said: “Over the last couple years, people have enjoyed making voice and video calls on WhatsApp.

“In fact, our users spend over 2 billion minutes on calls per day.

“We’re excited to announce that group calls for voice and video are coming to WhatsApp starting today.”

WhatsApp continued to focus on privacy during the debut by insisting the new feature will maintain high levels of encryption.

The service continued: “Group calls are always end-to-end encrypted, and we’ve designed calling to work reliably around the world in different network conditions.

“The feature is currently rolling out on the iPhone and Android versions of our app.”

Business interactions

WhatsApp is adding a host of new ways for people to engage with businesses.

The Facebook-owned company will install a new shortcut button to the app so people can start conversations with businesses quicker.

Users now also have the option to give their numbers to businesses that will allow them to receive vital information depending on the circumstance.

Businesses will be able to send WhatsApp clients boarding passes, shipping confirmations and other documents if they have been given their phone number.

A new “click-to-chat” button is also being harnessed by Facebook and websites that will allow users to quickly jump into WhatsApp and message businesses.

It appears Facebook is seeking new ways to make money with WhatsApp with this new feature.

Any businesses that do not reply to customers within 24 hours will be forced to pay the social media giant for the privilege.

WhatsApp will also now be a hub for business real-time support.

After announcing the business changes on Wednesday, WhatsApp insisted more features of the same nature will be coming “over a period of time”.

In a statement the messaging service said: “With this approach, you will continue to have full control over the messages you receive.

“Businesses will pay to send certain messages so they are selective and your chats don’t get cluttered.

“In addition, messages will remain end-to-end encrypted and you can block any business with the tap of a button.”

Forwarded messages

In addition to adding vital new functionality, WhatsApp recently changed how a highly used feature will work.

At the start of July the service added a label to messages that had been forwarded.

This allowed receiving users to identify when a message had not been sent by one of their contacts themselves.

WhatsApp declared the update was designed to add “context” to user interactions.

It stated: “WhatsApp will indicate which messages you receive have been forwarded to you.

“This extra context will help make one-on-one and group chats easier to follow.

“It also helps you determine if your friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it originally came from someone else. To see this new forwarded label, you need to have the latest supported version of WhatsApp on your phone.”