Forget Facetime, get video chat on WhatsApp if you haven't already
If you thought that Hangouts, Skype, Viber, Line, Facetime and Snapchat were not enough to fulfill your video-calling needs and desires, here’s another app that is catching up with the times: WhatsApp. Yes, your friendly neighbourhood instant messaging app now lets you video-chat, thereby eliminating the need for anything another application.
More than anything, WhatsApp has a huge market in India. 160 million of WhatsApp’s global user base of one billion are Indians. And with this new feature, WhatsApp might just become the one-stop shop for all IM users in India.
 |
| 160 million out of WhatsApp’s global user base of one billion are Indians alone. [Photo: Indiatoday.in] |
The video calling feature, a recent beta rollout, may not still be available on your device, despite the latest update. And even if it is available, there is a chance that it is slightly buggy. But if you can’t wait to get your hands on the new feature, without further delay, you can either download the WhatsApp APK from their website directly, or follow these steps (for Android phones only):
> Search for WhatsApp on Google Play
> Scroll to the bottom of the page
> Look for a tab that says “Become a beta tester” and tap on “I’m in”
> Confirm it again
> Return to WhatsApp page on Google Play
> Click on the new sign that says to “Update WhatsApp to beta version”
> Update the app
There are many advantages to having the video-call feature on WhatsApp, the biggest one being that it is cross-platform as opposed to Apple’s Facetime, which works only on iOS devices. And thanks to WhatsApp’s recent encryption policies, the video calls made using WhatsApp are fully encrypted to prevent unauthorised access.
The WhatsApp blog quotes the company saying: “We’re introducing this feature because we know that sometimes voice and text just aren’t enough. There’s no substitute for watching your grandchild take her first steps, or seeing your daughter’s face while she’s studying abroad. And we want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks.”