WhatsApp wants to be like Zoom and Meet: soon you will be able to share your screen during video calls

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will let you share your mobile phone screen during a video call. As such, the messaging app includes one of the most used tools on platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. Although it is not yet available to everyone.

As reported WABetaInformationsmall group testers beta versions of WhatsApp for Android have started using this new option. It appears in the bottom bar when making a video call with a phone icon with an arrow that comes out of its screen.

It is not yet known when it will be available to all users of the application, but the fact that it is already being tested may mean that its final release is not far off. As of now, the feature has started appearing in version 2.23.11.19 of the beta version of WhatsApp for Google’s mobile operating system.

There are few details yet. The aforementioned bearer indicates that, as soon as the relevant conditions are accepted, whatever appears on the screen will be shown to the recipient. So far, the implementation of this feature seems to be rather simplistic, so it is not yet known whether certain privacy settings will be configured. For example, that notifications for incoming messages or emails are not displayed, or that receiving screenshots.

Another issue that is not very clear is whether everything will automatically be recorded when sharing a mobile phone screen from WhatsApp. It is also impossible to choose whether to record the presentation or not. However, a more important question is how this feature can affect the end-to-end encryption of an application..

WhatsApp will soon let you share your screen during video calls

On a screenshot from WABetaInformation a warning message can be seen when launching the screen sharing option. “WhatsApp will have access to all information visible on your screen or played back from your device while recording or broadcasting. This includes data such as passwords, payment information, photos, messages, and audio you play,” he says.

So it sounds really disturbing. Of course, much is still unknown about the implementation of this tool, but its impact on privacy is a major issue that needs to be addressed. If the screen is used during an end-to-end encrypted video call when WhatsApp claims it cannot see the content of the conversations, how can I access the content in question? If what is displayed on the screen is recorded, is it stored locally or on third party servers?

It remains to be seen what answers WhatsApp gives to this, but it is clear that its developers seek to expand its use in a work or academic environmentwhere other platforms are preferred today. For now, everything points to the option being only tested on Android, and there are no clues as to when it might be introduced to iOS.

Those who have already tested the feature note that it may not work correctly in different scenarios. Especially when the video calls are in very large groups or when the participants in the conversation are using different versions of the app. We will closely follow the news on the topic.