No WhatsApp account? No problem. WhatsApp now lets people without an account join its calls, Meta announces. With a new guest calling feature, guests can open a call link in a computer browser, type in a name and join a call.
Guests themselves can’t start calls, though. Only people with WhatsApp accounts can create a call link: tap the “+” icon in the Calls tab, create the link and send it to the people you want on the call.
Every guest also needs the host’s approval. Guests need to wait in a waiting room until the host lets them in, and guests can be removed from the call at any time.
Guests also can’t see other participants’ phone numbers, send messages, or add anyone else directly to calls. On an app where your phone number is your account, we’d call that the right default.
Once admitted, guests can join one-on-one calls and group calls of up to 32 people. They get the essentials, too: sharing their computer screen, reacting with a thumbs up or heart, and raising a hand to jump in.
Meta pitches the calls as free and end-to-end encrypted, with no time limits, so there are “no abrupt cutoffs” and no scrambling to restart a call. It doesn’t name any rival’s free plan, but the dig is hard to miss.
Guest calling is the latest of this year’s WhatsApp calling updates, Meta says. In July, WhatsApp Web got audio and video calls, and call links that require approval to join got a waiting room.
Google and Outlook calendars get WhatsApp integrations later this year. You install the WhatsApp plugin, connect your account and add a WhatsApp call link to an invite, and everyone you invite can join with or without a WhatsApp account of their own. All in all, not a bad way to stay connected without installing one more app on your phone.
