WhatsApp is working on new features that will bring the web page version of the messenger closer to that of the bespoke apps.
Voice and video calls aren’t yet available on the relatively stripped-back web version of WhatsApp, but they are in the works, according to WABetaInfo.
You may not have heard of the site before, but it’s dedicated to digging into what’s coming to WhatsApp, and is a reliable source.
Of course, the current claim is only that video calls for the web version of WhatsApp are in the works. But the latest beta of WhatsApp features evidence they’re coming, namely in buttons for those very actions.
This is going to be handy for those who regularly switch between devices, or have to use locked-down work laptops that don’t allow you to install whatever apps you like.
WABetaInfo suggests the intention is for video and voice calls to work much as they do on other versions of WhatsApp, letting you both receive calls as well as make them.
These hints of future features came from a beta release of WhatsApp’s software. When they will appear in the actual full release is yet to be confirmed.
What else is coming up at WhatsApp?
Since then, a new Android beta has also been released, offering clues as to more features coming up next.
There’s nothing quite as dramatic, but it does look as though WhatsApp will offer more control over how voice message transcriptions are handled.
At present, you either turn these on or off, and the feature uses machine learning to turn your voice notes into text you can quickly read. But in the future, you’ll be able to either have all of these voice notes transcribed, or be able to manually select ones you want put through the wringer. This is already how it works over on iPhone.
In other WhatsApp news, the Meta AI recently jammed into the platform is causing yet more controversy.
The Wall Street Journal found it was able to get Meta AI’s chatbot to engage in a romantic role-play, with either the real person presenting as a minor or Meta’s AI asked to pretend to be one.
Meta downplayed the findings, but reportedly made changes to its AI model following the WSJ’s investigation.
“The use-case of this product in the way described is so manufactured that it’s not just fringe, it’s hypothetical,” Meta’s statement reads.
