WhatsApp audio and video calls will have up to 8 participants soon

[mobify]

The rumors were correct, Facebook is indeed upping the maximum limit of people allowed to participate in a group audio or video call on WhatsApp.

The current limit is 4, but this will "soon" double to 8 for everyone, the company revealed today. The new functionality has already been spotted in beta versions of the app. As before, these calls, whether audio or video, are end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one else can view or listen to them, not even WhatsApp or Facebook.

That's in stark contrast to the also just unveiled Messenger Rooms, which don't come with end-to-end encryption. On the other hand, Rooms does allow for up to 50 people to be on a call.

Unfortunately, Facebook hasn't shared a specific launch timeline for the new maximum limit of participants for WhatsApp. Previous clues found in beta versions of the app implied that all of the 8 participants would have to use the latest iteration of the app, once the functionality launches in the wild. We'll have to wait and see if that pans out.