WhatsApp group calls now let you mute that one person that won't shut up

WhatsApp logo (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / iMore)

What you need to know

You can now mute someone else in a WhatsApp group call.
New indicators will show which people are speaking for the first time.

If you've ever been in a WhatsApp group call with that one person who just won't stop talking — or breathing into the microphone! — you're going to love a new feature that was just announced. Now, group calls let you mute other people, among other things.

The news was announced by Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta when he posted a message and a couple of screenshots to Twitter. Cathcart says that the new muting power isn't the only addition, too, with a new indicator showing when people are speaking for easier recognition during large group calls.

Some new features for group calls on @WhatsApp: You can now mute or message specific people on a call (great if someone forgets to mute themselves!), and we've added a helpful indicator so you can more easily see when more people join large calls. pic.twitter.com/fxAUCAzrsySome new features for group calls on @WhatsApp: You can now mute or message specific people on a call (great if someone forgets to mute themselves!), and we've added a helpful indicator so you can more easily see when more people join large calls. pic.twitter.com/fxAUCAzrsy— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) June 16, 2022 June 16, 2022

Some new features for group calls on @WhatsApp: You can now mute or message specific people on a call (great if someone forgets to mute themselves!), and we've added a helpful indicator so you can more easily see when more people join large calls.

WhatsApp appears to be steadily rolling these changes out to people now, so don't panic if you aren't seeing them just yet. It's probably also a good idea to make sure that you have the latest version of the app installed via the App Store or TestFlight, too. Don't yet have WhatsApp installed? You can grab it for free right now.

While WhatsApp is already one of the best iPhone and Mac apps for sending and receiving messages with people who are not using iPhones, it's still missing a vital part of the equation. The lack of an iPad app is still less than great, but it's something the company is considering fixing.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.