Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature that allows users to share their screens during a video call.
According to WABetaInfo, a WhatsApp reporting blog, this screen-sharing feature is not available to all users yet but is already available to some beta testers who have installed the latest WhatsApp update from the Google Play store.
It could be part of a play to make the company get more acceptance for work meetings and compete with the likes of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
Last September, the Meta-owned platform rolled out a new feature that allows users to share a direct link to a call. It also allows up to 32 users during a call session. However, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom allow for large numbers on a call. The first two can take up to 100, while up to 300 people can be on a single Zoom call.
With the soon-to-be-available feature, when users are on a video call, a new icon will be available on the bottom toolbar that will enable users to share everything on their screen with other members of the call.
WhatsApp users will be able to stop screen sharing at any time and will only be enabled with the consent of the sharer.
While the feature is currently only available to Beta testers, WABetaInfo said that it will become available to more users over the coming weeks.
However, “This feature may be unavailable on old versions of Android, screen-sharing may not work in large group calls, and the recipient may be unable to get the content of your screen in case they are using an outdated version of WhatsApp,” read the WABetaInfo post.
Screen-sharing functions have been available on online video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom for a while.
The blog also announced that WhatsApp is working on releasing a username function in an effort to facilitate more private communication.
These are the latest in a string of new features available on the Meta-owned messaging application.
WhatsApp recently introduced a feature that allows users to edit WhatsApp messages for up to 15 minutes after sending them.
