Do you want to ring your group chat but not include everyone in the call? You now can thank a handy feature in WhatsApp, which allows you to control your call participants. Besides having more control, you should also notice better video call quality.
You can invite up to 31 people from your group chat into a call at the same time. To do so, you’ll first need to open WhatsApp and navigate to your group chat.
In the top right-hand corner, select the video call icon.
When the dropdown menu appears, tap on the group name; it’ll say Select people here.
Tick the box next to each person you want to invite to the call.
When you’re happy with the list of participants, select Call group.
Have you already started a call but would like to add someone? No worries; doing so is very straightforward. Creating a call link is the easiest way to do this, and you should follow the steps in this guide on how to use WhatsApp call links.
Alternatively, you can select Add people -> Add to call.
Did you miss a call but would still like to join? Go to your group chat, look for Ongoing, and select Join. When the call screen appears on your device, press the Join button again.
If this doesn’t work, ask a group member to add you instead.
This also applies to audio calls. You can choose audio call participants from your WhatsApp group.
The process is almost identical, with the main difference being that you’ll need to select the phone icon rather than the video option.
If you can’t see these features on your device, try the two options below.
Since the feature is now rolled out, not being able to select call participants likely has something to do with your version of WhatsApp. Updating your software should fix this problem.
To update WhatsApp on Android, follow the same steps that you normally would to update your apps on an Android device. If you use an iPhone, tap your profile icon in the top right-hand corner and look for the option to update WhatsApp (if it’s available).
If you have the latest version of WhatsApp, a simple device restart should do the trick. Switch your device off and on like you normally would, and wait a few minutes. WhatsApp should then work like normal, and you should see the new features.
With the option to choose who you’d like to call in your WhatsApp group, you can organize events more effectively. You’ll also benefit from better video call quality and can use numerous effects, too. When combined with other features like WhatsApp channels, you’ll find it much easier to communicate with your friends and family in the app.
