“Leave a message after the tone.” We all expect the option to explain why we’ve reached out when someone misses our phone call. That hasn’t been the case for calls from messaging apps. Despite these apps being the go-to calling option for many, most, including WhatsApp, don’t offer a voicemail option. That’s now changing.
As spotted by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is now beta-testing a feature that will let you leave a message when someone misses your call. The option is not available to all beta testers, but some are seeing it in the latest beta version.
Here’s how it works: When you call someone on WhatsApp and they don’t pick up, you’ll have the standard options to call again or cancel the outreach. However, when running this latest beta version, you may also receive a third option: “Record voice message.” This option also appears in your text thread with the contact, underneath the record of the missed voice call.
Whichever way you choose to record the message, WhatsApp will send the voice note within this text thread, and keep the notification for the missed call, so the other user can quickly catch up. It’s not a revolutionary feature by any means, since you’ve been able to send voice messages over WhatsApp before, but it is a convenience, and it’s helpful that WhatsApp has designed the feature to work with the calling experience.
If WhatsApp rolls out this feature to the public, it’d join the few apps that offer it, like FaceTime—which lets users leave an audio or video message for missed calls.
How to install the WhatsApp beta
If you want to try out this feature, and any other early features that WhatsApp includes in the beta, you’ll almost assuredly need an Android device. While there is a WhatsApp beta on iOS, it remains perpetually full. There’s always a chance the beta will open up, but I’ve never seen it happen before.
If you do have an Android phone, you can enroll in the WhatsApp beta here. Once you become a tester, you can download the official WhatsApp app from the Play Store if you don’t have it already, or wait for the next update: The beta runs through the official app, so you’ll receive new betas from traditional software updates through the Play Store.
