WhatsApp adds guest calling so non-users can join end-to-end encrypted calls via a link

Meta has rolled out a feature called guest calling that lets people join WhatsApp voice or video calls from a web browser without creating a WhatsApp account. The company says anyone with a link can click to join and that calls remain end-to-end encrypted when guests participate.

Hosts create a call link from the Calls tab and must approve any guest before that person enters the session. Several outlets report that guest callers cannot initiate calls on their own; they can only accept invitations sent by a WhatsApp user.

Reporting across the sites says guest participants keep access to core in-call functions: hand raising, screen sharing and emoji reactions such as thumbs up and heart. WhatsApp also preserved privacy protections for account holders in guest calls so that guests cannot see other users’ phone numbers, send messages within WhatsApp, or add other people to the call.

Meta states group calls can hold up to 32 people, a capacity noted in the coverage but not explicitly tied by all outlets to guest participants alone. The rollout includes plans to add calendar integrations that let users create WhatsApp call links from Google Calendar or Outlook later in the year, a capability mentioned by multiple outlets as forthcoming.

Outlets differ in the level of technical detail they supply: one summary explains how to start a guest call from the Calls tab by tapping a plus button to create and send a call link, while other reports focus on the guest experience and retained features.

Coverage does not specify regional availability beyond advising users in some countries to check the Calls tab for the call-link option in the latest app version.

None of the supplied reports attaches legal or regulatory analysis to the change or cites independent audits of the encryption claims; they reproduce Meta’s statement about end-to-end encryption for calls that include guests.

The accounts present the feature as a usability addition intended to let non-WhatsApp users participate in calls without installing the app or signing up, and they note Meta’s broader work on web-based encrypted calls and account signups from iPad as part of incremental updates in 2026.

For hosts, the guest calling flow is described as an invitation-first model: links are generated by WhatsApp users and guests are routed through a browser interface that limits access compared with full WhatsApp accounts.

The guest role is portrayed consistently across outlets as purposefully restricted — unable to add participants, unable to message or see phone numbers — while retaining audiovisual collaboration tools. The sources report that guests can join one-to-one or group calls once approved.

Taken together, the reporting establishes that WhatsApp’s guest calling aims to lower the barrier for one-off or ad hoc calls with people who have not installed the app while preserving encryption and several privacy protections, and that Meta plans calendar integrations to simplify link creation later this year.