WhatsApp May Soon Let You Turn Off the Camera Before Picking Video Calls

WhatsApp is developing a new functionality which may provide Android users with more choice when it comes to picking up video calls, according to a new report. The instant messaging platform is said to be testing a new option which offers the choice of turning off the device’s camera before picking up a video call. The in-development WhatsApp feature was reportedly discovered following an APK teardown of a beta version of the app.

Turning Off Camera Before Video Calls on WhatsApp

The feature was spotted by Android Authority following an APK teardown of the WhatsApp beta app for Android version 2.25.7.3. While the feature isn’t available to the public as of now, the publication managed to activate it by tinkering with the app. It is said to offer an option dubbed Turn off your video when the receiver gets a video call, enabling them to turn off the video before picking it up. This means the call will reportedly be received in a voice-only mode.

If the camera is already off, the app may also display another Accept without video prompt as a confirmation. The report suggests WhatsApp users will have the option of turning on the camera mid-way during the call using the Turn on your video option.

At present, WhatsApp does not offer a similar functionality. While users can still turn off their video feed during a video call, they can only do so after picking it up. However, the in-development feature is expected to bring a functionality not too dissimilar from Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other video-conferencing platforms.

Other WhatsApp Features in Development

Past reports suggest that the instant messaging platform is developing several new features for Android users. One of the reported additions is a UPI Lite functionality which is speculated to simplify the payment process by enabling users to carry out transactions without entering the PIN.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp may also soon roll out a new interface for Meta AI — its conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. It is said to offer an automatic voice mode along with prompt suggestions to help users get started.