WhatsApp has added fully encrypted video and voice calls to its desktop app.

The Facebook-owned chat app has long supported video and voice calls in its iOS and Android mobile apps, but these features were not available on desktops or laptops. This lagged behind Zoom and Google Meet and was especially problematic during the coronavirus pandemic, when more people were communicating virtually.

The feature was trialed in a beta version of the desktop app late last year and is now being rolled out to all users.

However, while a welcome addition to the app, the feature is only available for individual chats, and the weekly family get-together has yet to migrate to WhatsApp desktop.

It is also not available on the browser-based WhatsApp Web, and is limited to text chats or recorded voice and video messages.

Still, WhatsApp says it plans to extend this feature to group video and voice calls in the future. And that is essential to compete with the best video chat apps like Zoom, Skype, and Apple FaceTime.

On the plus side, desktop mode works well.

To try it out, simply download the Mac or Windows version of the desktop app.

When you click on an individual chat, the familiar video and phone symbols appear in the upper right corner of the window. Click on any of them and you will be immediately connected to your contact.

This feature can be used in portrait or landscape orientation, so you can connect with the person you are using on your mobile even if you are using the desktop app, as in a test call. It is also displayed in a separate window that can be resized and is always set to appear at the top.

The large screen display definitely enhances the WhatsApp video calling experience.

All in all, this is a nice feature. However, we hope it will soon be rolled out to group chats as well.