WhatsApp is preparing to eliminate one of its biggest friction points by letting you hop on voice and video calls with people who don’t have an account. According to a new report from WABetaInfo, the messaging platform is working on a new guest calling feature for WhatsApp Web that’ll let non-users join a call through a link without needing to download the app, create a profile, or verify their phone number.
Call anyone, no account needed
Earlier this year, WhatsApp started rolling out a guest chat feature that lets users text non-users by sharing a link. The platform now appears to be expanding the same approach to voice and video calls. Based on details uncovered by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp will soon let users generate a call link and share it across any channel. Recipients will be able to open the link in a desktop browser to jump straight into the conversation, bypassing any account setup.
WABetaInfo
To address privacy concerns, WhatsApp will reportedly rely on temporary session identifiers generated by the browser to build encryption keys, ensuring guest calls maintain full end-to-end encryption without collecting any permanent user credentials.
Built-in safeguards keep hosts in control
While dropping the account requirement will make communication significantly faster, it also brings up obvious security concerns regarding uninvited participants. WhatsApp will reportedly handle this potential issue by giving hosts complete control over who can join. Guests won’t be able to join an active call just because they have the link. The host will have to approve each guest entry manually.
Furthermore, hosts will maintain full authority to remove any troublesome guest at any point during the session or end the call completely. WABetaInfo notes that the guest calling feature is currently in development and is not yet available in the beta release. WhatsApp has not shared an official rollout timeline, but the feature will likely arrive for public testing in the coming months once development wraps up.
