WhatsApp Could Soon Hide IP Addresses in Calls — What’s the Catch?

WhatsApp calls will soon become more secure to use.

The company behind the popular secure messaging app is reportedly working on a feature that protects users' IP addresses when making or taking a call with the app.

WhatsApp will probably release this feature in a future update once it completes the development process.

More Secure WhatsApp Calls

WhatsApp is the only secure messaging app Meta has for a long time as of press time, with Instagram and Facebook Messenger getting end-to-end encryption sometime later in 2023.

While chats and calls within the app are encrypted end-to-end, they don't hide a user's IP address, allowing hackers to view and even hack a user's device. However, WhatsApp is developing the previously mentioned feature to fix such a problem.

According to a report from WABetaInfo, the feature WhatsApp is developing hides a user's address while on a call by relaying calls through WhatsApp's server. As a result, this new feature makes hacking into a device difficult.

Unfortunately, the feature involves a trade-off users might not be pleased with - it trades security for call quality. While relaying a call through WhatsApp servers hides a user's IP address, it comes at the cost of a potential minor call degradation, as a result of all the encryption and routing processes.

This degradation could come in various forms, such as unclear audio, delays in a call, etc. Additionally, WABetaInfo didn't clarify if WhatsApp will apply this feature to audio or video calls, or both.

It is unknown if this trade-off will remain in WhatsApp's new feature, but since it is under development, the company could remove this trade-off entirely. If a user doesn't mind the slight drop in call quality, however, they can enable the feature by heading to the app's call privacy settings under the Settings and Privacy menus and toggle it on.

Beta testers can't try out the feature as of press time due to it being under development, but they can do so after WhatsApp works on it more. When that will happen, though, nobody knows.

Other WhatsApp Features Under Development

The ability to hide a user's IP address during a call isn't the only feature WhatsApp is developing behind the scenes. You may recall that the app has been actively developing and releasing various features for the app lately, like the release of its HD photo and video-sending features.

Aside from those, the company is also working on its new AI-generated stickers. The company is also developing a passkey login/sign-in method to WhatsApp, giving users a more secure method to log into their accounts.

The company is also working on a new feature that allows voice chat communication between groups, allowing up to 32 participants from separate groups to talk to each other through the app. The company also released a redesigned sticker and GIF picker for iOS devices - a feature it previously worked on that got a public release in early July.