WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging app, may soon expand to the videoconferencing and remote collaboration territory. The Meta-owned platform is readying a screen sharing feature usually found in business communication tools like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom.
WhatsApp will let you share your screen during video calls
According to a report from WABetaInfo, WhatsApp added this new feature to the latest beta version of the app (2.23.11.19). The ability to share the screen isn’t available to everyone in the beta channel but some lucky users have been able to test it. When in a video call, the app shows a new button on the bottom bar that lets your share your screen with the other party.
Tapping this button brings up a confirmation pop-up where WhatsApp tells you about the risks of sharing your screen during calls. It tells you that the person on the other end will be able to see anything you have on the screen, including your payment details, passwords, photos, messages, and more. You can tap the “Start now” button to continue or tap “Cancel” and go back.
Once you start sharing your screen, WhatsApp will note it in the middle of the call screen. A “Stop sharing” button lets you immediately end the process anytime you want. You won’t need permission from the other party to stop sharing your screen. It’s unclear whether doing so will disconnect the call as well. It probably won’t, if we go by the implementation of the feature in other platforms.
As said earlier, this feature is usually found in videoconferencing and remote collaboration services. It lets employees share slides or projects they are working on with their colleagues or seniors. WhatsApp may be looking to do something similar now that it has expanded group video call limits to 32 people and added proper multi-device support.
WhatsApp has also redesigned the navigation bar
Screen sharing isn’t the only change in WhatsApp beta version 2.23.11.19. Some users received a redesigned bottom navigation bar as well. They are seeing tabs in this order: Chats, Calls, Communities, and Status. The previous layout was Chats, Communities, Status, and Calls. The bottom bar itself is new on Android and not yet available to everyone globally, though. But now that these changes are available to some beta users, it shouldn’t be long before WhatsApp rolls them out widely. You can click the button below to download the latest version of the app from the Google Play Store.
2023-05-30 15:09:31