WhatsApp announced on Oct. 14 that anyone can be invited to a call without holding a WhatsApp account, and that guests can join one-on-one and group calls of up to 32 people from a computer browser. Meta, which owns the app, describes the calls as free and end-to-end encrypted, with no time limits.
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The arrangement solves an old family and office problem: a relative or colleague who refuses to install another messaging app can now be pulled into a video call through a link. The condition is that a person with an account has to start the call, and every guest has to be let in by that host.
Call Links, Waiting Rooms and Host Approval
According to Meta’s guest calling announcement, a host opens the Calls tab, taps the plus icon, creates a call link and sends it to participants. Guests open the link in their computer browser, enter a name and wait in a waiting room until the host admits them. Meta puts the rule plainly: “Anyone joining as a guest always needs the call host’s approval.” The host can also remove a guest from the call at any time.
Only people with a WhatsApp account can create call links, which keeps the host role tied to an identity the app already knows and means a guest cannot start a call or spin up a new link alone. Guests are limited in what they can see and do. They cannot see other participants’ phone numbers, send messages or add people directly to the call.
The 32-Person Ceiling and What Guests Can Do In-Call
Once admitted, guests can join one-on-one calls and group calls with up to 32 people. Inside the call, the announcement says, guests get screen sharing, emoji reactions such as a thumbs up or a heart, and a raise-hand option. Meta does not name specific supported browsers in the post, and the same post describes the calls as part of a series of calling updates this year, saying only that guests use their computer browser, and it gives no regional breakdown or staged rollout dates for guest calling.
The wording matters for anyone planning a call around a phone-only guest. Meta’s description centers on a computer browser, so a relative who only owns a phone may need to borrow a laptop, and the announcement does not say whether mobile browsers work.
Web Calling and the July Groundwork
Guest calling builds on a set of calling updates Meta announced on July 28. The July announcement brought one-on-one and group audio and video calls to WhatsApp Web with no app download, along with screen sharing, reactions, a Calls tab with history and favorites, call transfer between devices, QuickHD video that starts in high definition within the first few seconds, and noise suppression. Meta said then that the features were rolling out gradually and would be available to everyone soon.
A waiting room already existed in that release. When a call link has the “Require approval to join” option switched on, participants wait until the host admits them, and WhatsApp’s own blog post on web calling repeats that web calls are end-to-end encrypted, free and without time limits. The October change makes approval a fixed rule for guests rather than a switch.
WABetaInfo, which tracks unreleased WhatsApp features, reported in September that the company was developing call links for people without an account. That report said the host would approve every guest before entry, could reject or approve requests at any time, and could remove a guest who then could not rejoin, or end the call for everyone. It described guest calls as using the same encryption method as standard calls, with WhatsApp Web generating a session identifier that is used to create the key, a detail Meta’s own post summarizes only as end-to-end encryption. It also said guest calls are real-time only, so the conversation ends when the call ends, unlike guest chats, which can persist for up to 10 days of inactivity.
Calendar Plugins Still to Come
One piece of the announcement is not live yet. Meta says calendar integrations with Google Calendar and Outlook are coming later this year, where a WhatsApp plugin, once installed and connected to an account, can add a call link to a calendar invite. Invitees can then join with or without a WhatsApp account, which would put guest calling inside the scheduling tools many workplaces already run.
For now, the practical sequence is short: create a link from the Calls tab, send it, and admit each guest as the name appears in the waiting room. Meta states no regional availability for guest calling, so the announcement leaves open when the option reaches every account. WhatsApp keeps a calling features page for the wider set of tools, including the web calling options introduced in the summer.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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