WhatsApp begins rolling out video calling feature, but there's a catch

You already send text messages and make voice calls with WhatsApp, now you can also make video calls through the app — provided you’ve an Android phone, for now.

Though the company hasn’t begun advertising this yet, but new beta versions of its Android app come with the ability to make video calls. If you and your friend are both on the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android, you will now see "Video Call" and "Voice Call" options when you hit the dialer button on top. Do note that the feature is still in early stage, so the video feed could stutter at times.

To get this feature, you will need to grab the latest beta version of WhatsApp. The company maintains an official beta testing program on Google Play, and one can sign up for it by tapping the "Become a Tester" button. Alternatively, you can also download the latest beta build of WhatsApp from third-party site APKMirror. The website offers Google-signed apps. Ensure that you snag version 2.16.318 or higher of WhatsApp. Earlier this month, some Windows Phone users reported that they had received the video calling feature on WhatsApp. Now that WhatsApp has started to exude video calling ability on Android’s beta apps, it seems likely that its iOS and stable Android versions will follow the suit soon.

Video calling is one of the most sought after features on WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned company has in many ways revolutionized how people text, and in recent times, how they make voice calls. Though there are a plethora of apps and services that offer video calling ability -- many of them for free -- WhatsApp getting this feature would be noteworthy because of its one-billion plus users.