WhatsApp introduces screen sharing during video calls
By Abimbola Mohammed
Two weeks after the launch of its new video-messaging capabilities, Meta, parent company of WhatsApp, is launching a feature that allows users to share their screen during video calls in the app, similar to video-conferencing experiences on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, via a post on his Instagram handle and Facebook, said with this feature, users can now share presentations or documents during live video calls just as it is on traditional video conferencing platforms.
The feature, which was first released for some beta testers on Android in late May, can be accessed by tapping or clicking the ‘Share’ icon. Users can choose between sharing a specific app or their entire screen.
The company says the feature is now available in-app via the “Share” icon, which invites users to either share their entire screen or another app while video-chatting.
In Meta’s words, users can use the feature for “sharing documents from work, browsing photos with family, planning a vacation or shopping online with friends, or just helping grandparents with tech support.”
In addition to screen-sharing, which has been in beta for a couple of months and is now available to all WhatsApp users, Meta has announced the future release of a new landscape mode for video calls on mobile that provides a “wider and more immersive viewing and sharing experiences.”
This is the newest feature in a recent line of video compatibility features on the encrypted messaging service.
At the end of July, WhatsApp made it possible for users to record video messages up to 60 seconds in the same way they record voice messages. In an effort to compete with other encrypted apps like Telegram and Signal, the platform has also added video notes, polls, and broadcast channels.
Meta explained that the screen-sharing feature is the latest of several features WhatsApp had rolled out since the beginning of this year in an attempt to build a multipurpose app. Just recently, the platform announced a feature that allows users to edit messages on the app.
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