WhatsApp rolling out Discord like group voice chats feature: Here’s how it works

For those wondering, voice chats are similar to group calls, but instead of ringing everyone in the group, it will send a silent notification. While the beta version has capped the number of participants to 32, the number might change once WhatsApp officially rolls out the feature.

Similar to Twitter Spaces and Discord voice channels, users will be able to join or leave whenever they like. When someone initiates a voice chat, the group icon in the chat list will change to a waveform icon and show a ‘Connect’ button, clicking on which will let you join the real-time discussion with a dedicated interface.

Here’s what the voice chat interface looks like. (Image Source: WABetaInfo)

While voice chats will remain active for an hour once everyone leaves, group members will be able to initiate once whenever they want. Compared to ‘group calls’, voice chats won’t require users to manually add others. Like all other things on WhatsApp, voice chats will be end-to-end encrypted but won’t show up as a fullscreen call-style notification.

WABetaInfo notes that voice chats may not be available for groups with less than 32 participants, but WhatsApp might change the minimum participant limit down the line. Also, the feature currently seems to be available to beta participants, but since WhatsApp is widely rolling out the feature, users on the stable channel might be able to use it in the coming days.

WhatsApp has been testing a lot of new features lately, like the ability to log in via email, send video messages, faster way to transfer chats between phones without relying on Google Drive and more.