You can now make WhatsApp VIDEO calls

Video calling has finally landed on the Android version of WhatsApp – for some. So far, the feature on the Facebook-owned app is limited to the beta version of the Android app, with iPhone users left out of the loop.

The ability to make video calls means that WhatsApp can go head to head with Apple’s Facetime.

The update appears to only be trickling through to some users at the moment, reports AndroidPolice.

‘Video calls are becoming available seemingly at random. You won’t need an app update as long as you’re on one of the recent beta versions,’ the site said.

Those using the standard version of the app, rather than the Android developer version may still have to wait a while before they can make video calls.

For those who don’t have the updated app, they’ll just receive a voice call for now.

Tapping the call button or contact will fire up box with both voice and video options, reports Android Police.

The update means that WhatsApp is on its way to joining the range of major messaging services that offer video calling, including Microsoft’s Skype Google’e new Duo app.

While WhatsApp video calling is available for every yet, it appears to work for those who have installed version 2.16.318, reports AndroidPolice.

While the function is currently limited to Android, it’s likely that it will be available on iOS once WhatsApp has finished testing it.

Last week, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger were declared the most secure messaging apps to use, according to a report by Amnesty International.

However, security experts dispute exactly how safe they are.

The Amnesty report ranked 11 companies that run the world’s most popular messaging apps, including Skype, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger.

The human rights charity looked at how the firms protect users’ privacy and their freedom of expression.

In particular, the group looked at whether the messaging platforms had end-to-end encryption and whether this is switched on by default.

Messenger and Facebook-owned WhatsApp were considered as one in the results, scoring a joint 73/100, with Apple also ranking high on the scale with 67.

However, while both WhatsApp and Messenger feature end-to-end encryption, only the former applies it by default.

Despite Amnesty’s recommendation, a recent report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) throws doubt on how secure the app is, reports Andrew Griffin for The Independent.

In particular, the EFF points towards WhatsApp’s use of unencrypted back-ups of messages.

The privacy experts also raises concerns over a recent WhatsApp privacy policy update announcing plans to share data with the app’s parent company Facebook.

 UM– USEKE.RW