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Latest version of WhatsApp for Android finally lets all users in on VoIP calling

It’s been a long time coming for voice calling in WhatsApp. The company decided on an extremely dragged out rollout of the much-anticipated feature, but now it appears that anyone using the latest version of WhatsApp for Android has access to calling as many friends as they would like…

The story of voice calling in WhatsApp is a long one, as the feature has actually been available to a select number of users for months now. Up until today, if you had a friend that had the calling feature enabled, you had your golden ticket. All you needed to do was have that friend shoot you a call via WhatsApp, and you had the feature unlocked as well. Today, though, it’s rolling out to everyone—no invite required.

To get started, just make sure you have at least version 2.12.5 of the app via Google Play. It seems as if this is the currently available version of the app, but WhatsApp has also started rolling out a newer version: 2.12.19. Both should work fine as far as we can tell, but it would probably be safe to go ahead and install 2.12.19 if you don’t have the app installed at all. It doesn’t seem that this version is required, however, as those running 2.12.5—including myself—have seen the feature enabled thanks to a server side update.

Getting started with the feature is pretty easy. Head over to the “Calls” tab and tap the phone icon at the top-right of the screen. You’ll be able to select from your contacts to start a new call, and after you’re done you’ll see that person’s name and information listed with the time of the call—along with the ability to look deeper into your call history.

Head over to the Play Store to grab WhatsApp for free.

 

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Avatar for Stephen Hall Stephen Hall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.