WhatsApp adds voice and video calling feature to desktop version

iStock (illustration)

Facebook Inc's WhatsApp has introduced a voice and video calling feature on its desktop version.

The company said users will be able to use desktop screens for calls in both portrait and landscape mode, and the calls will be end-to-end encrypted. 

The move to facilitate calls over large screens would put WhatsApp on par with video-conferencing bigwigs Zoom and Google Meet, but it is not clear if it has ambitions to compete with the two in the enterprise space.

WhatsApp, which recorded 1.4 billion voice and video calls on last New Year's Eve, has benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic as people around the world used video-calling apps to stay connected while sheltering themselves at home.

More from Business

  • Nasdaq set to confirm bear market as Trump tariffs trigger recession fears

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was set to confirm it was in a bear market on Friday, down more than 20 per cent from a recent record high, as investors fled riskier assets on fears that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could spark a trade war and tip the global economy into recession.

  • Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum exceed 500M boe in Khor Mor field

    UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, alongside their partners in the Pearl Petroleum consortium, have said the cumulative production from their Khor Mor project, the largest non-associated gas field in Iraq, has exceeded 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

  • China to impose tariffs of 34% on all US goods

    China has announced a slew of additional tariffs and restrictions against US goods as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Finance Ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34 per cent on all US goods from April 10.

  • Shares bruised, dollar crumbles as Trump tariffs stir recession fears

    Stocks limped to the end of the week on Friday, the dollar was set for its worst week in a month while gold flirted with a record peak as investors feared US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs would tip the global economy into a recession.

  • Wall Street futures sink as tariffs fuel recession fears

    US stock index futures tumbled on Thursday after President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on major trade partners heightened fears of an all-out trade war that could push the global economy into a recession.

News