This lock-down has spurred the usage of communication tools to its limits. People holed up in their homes have been using every possible medium of communication there is. And video call apps like zoom, whatsapp etc. are among the top products when it comes to usage.
With zoom getting a bad name recently due to a lot of reasons like the 'zoom bombing' and such, whatsapp usage seemed to be going up. The only problem was the limitation on the number of participants per call.
Whatsapp, till recently, had a limit of four persons who could join a video call but according to a statement by them, an update has increased, or rather doubled, this number to eight participants. Which means that now I could have 8 people in a call rather than the 4 I was used to earlier.
Though I am an android user, I could not find this update on the play store but I am told that the Apple store has already got it. But according to this article that I read, you can download it directly from their website, if you want it now.
Also, as with voice the calls are end-to-end encrypted with the company (Facebook) claiming on their blog that
no one else can view or listen to your private conversation, not even WhatsApp.
So try it out and it might make your life a little bit more meaningful when you get in touch with your family member, all in the same call!