Meta has started rolling out guest calling in WhatsApp, a feature that lets people without a WhatsApp account join a WhatsApp call through an invite link.

The company announced the change on Wednesday in a post on the WhatsApp blog. Guests join from a computer browser and always need an invitation from an existing WhatsApp user, since they cannot start calls of their own.

Meta says guest calls keep the core properties of regular WhatsApp calls. They are free, and they are end-to-end encrypted, so bringing someone from outside the platform into a conversation does not lower its privacy level.

Until now, every participant in a WhatsApp call needed a WhatsApp account. That requirement made group calls awkward whenever one or two people in a group relied on a different messaging app.

Guests are deliberately limited. Each guest needs approval from the call host and sits in a waiting room until the host lets them in. The host can also remove a guest from the call at any time.

Meta lists these restrictions for people who join without an account:

• no visibility of other participants' phone numbers
• no option to send messages during the call
• no option to add other people to the call
• no option to create a new call

Guests still have some tools. They can share their screen, react with emojis, and raise their hand. Guest calling works for one-on-one calls as well as group calls with up to 32 participants.

Inviting someone who does not use WhatsApp is handled from the Calls tab:

1. Open WhatsApp and switch to the Calls tab.
2. Tap the plus (+) button and create a call link.
3. Send the link to the person who does not have a WhatsApp account.
4. The guest opens the link in a computer browser and enters a name.
5. Admit the guest from the waiting room when the call starts.

Host approval is the main safeguard in the new system. Anyone holding a call link can reach the waiting room, so hosts should check names before admitting guests, particularly when a link has been forwarded beyond the original recipient.

The hidden phone numbers protect existing participants from exposing their contact details to someone they do not know.

WhatsApp is not the first calling service to take this route. Apple's FaceTime already lets users create call links that people on Android, Windows, or Linux devices can join The WhatsApp change follows another recent account policy update, after the service started to block logins on outdated operating systems.

Meta's announcement describes guests joining from a computer browser and does not say whether mobile browsers are supported. WhatsApp users who do not see the call link option yet should update the app to the latest version.