WhatsApp is testing a guest calling feature built around secure web links. The idea is simple: people could make or receive WhatsApp voice and video calls without setting up an account, downloading the app beforehand, or running into a signup screen before they can join.
The feature grows out of guest chats, but it goes further than what WhatsApp currently allows without an account. Right now, account-free chats are limited to text. Guests can’t share media, can’t send voice notes, can’t place calls, and their chat history may disappear after a period of inactivity. Guest calling would change that by letting someone jump into a one-off conversation straight from a browser, in the kind of situation where a quick call makes more sense than a long message thread.
Meta hasn’t opened public testing yet, and it also hasn’t given any timeline for a release. Even so, the expectation is that WhatsApp guest calling would still use end-to-end encryption, that every guest would need approval from the host before joining, and that browser-session encryption keys would handle the privacy side of the interaction.
For businesses that use WhatsApp for customer service, support, bookings, or high-consideration purchases, this could matter quite a bit. Guest calling would make it easier to connect with customers who don’t have the app, smooth out the experience, and likely help conversions too. It could also make link-based, ad hoc calling more practical, while giving WhatsApp another way to compete with Zoom and Google Meet in places like India, Brazil, and Indonesia. That’s a meaningful audience: WhatsApp already has 3.3 billion monthly users and processes more than 150 billion messages every day.
WhatsApp itself is already available on iOS, Android, desktop, and the web. Guest calling, though, is still being developed, and you can’t use it yet.
Author: Manuel Bosque
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