People without a WhatsApp account can now join WhatsApp calls
On October 14, 2026 Meta announced guest calling for WhatsApp. Someone with no WhatsApp account can now open a call link in a computer browser and take part. Guests sit in a waiting room until the person who started the call admits them, and both one-to-one calls and group calls of up to 32 people are supported.
Call links now work for people outside WhatsApp
According to the announcement on Meta's newsroom, dated October 14, 2026, WhatsApp users can now bring people who have no WhatsApp account into a call. Meta presents the change as opening WhatsApp calling up, so that you can set up a conversation without first checking which apps the other person has installed.
It starts in the Calls tab. You tap the plus (+) icon, generate a call link and share it with whoever you want to talk to. Creating a link requires a WhatsApp account. The invited guest opens the link in a browser on their computer, types a name and lands in a waiting room. Meta states the rule plainly: "Anyone joining as a guest always needs the call host’s approval." The host decides who comes in, and Meta adds that a guest can be taken out of the call at any point.
What guests can and cannot do, plus the calendar plan
Guest permissions are narrow. Guests do not see the phone numbers of other participants, cannot send messages in the call and cannot pull anyone else into it on their own. The core call tools are still open to them: they can share their computer screen to go through material together, react with a thumbs up or a heart, and raise a hand when they want to speak.
On capacity, WhatsApp supports one-to-one calls as well as group calls of up to 32 people, admitted guests included. Meta describes the calls as free and end-to-end encrypted, and says there is no time limit, which in the company's framing means calls are not cut off midway and nobody has to reconnect. The second part of the announcement concerns calendars: Meta says Google Calendar and Outlook integrations are coming later this year. After installing the WhatsApp plugin and connecting an account, users will be able to put a WhatsApp call link into an invite, and Meta says invitees can join whether or not they have an account.
Less reason to switch to a separate meeting tool
Social Media Today reads the feature as WhatsApp moving to compete with Zoom and Microsoft Teams in group video calling. In practical terms, when the other side has no WhatsApp account, a shared call may no longer require setting up a different tool; the guest only needs a computer and a browser. We saw the same push to take WhatsApp calling onto more screens in July, when voice and video calls arrived on WhatsApp Web.
For small businesses that already run customer conversations through WhatsApp, this means a video call with a customer or supplier who has no account can stay in the same channel. Screen sharing lets both sides walk through a quote, a design draft or an order screen. The approval step matters too: even if a link is forwarded, nobody gets in unless the host admits them. Meta's announcement does not mention business accounts, though, so before using the feature for customer calls it is worth checking whether it actually appears in your business app.
The sources say nothing about Türkiye, so this section is commentary
Neither source mentions Türkiye. Meta's announcement names no country or region and does not say the feature is limited to any market. What follows is therefore not drawn from the sources; it is explicitly UNALSOFT's commentary.
Our view: for a business that uses WhatsApp as a sales and support channel, the real question is when the feature shows up on its own account, and in which app. The open points, one by one. The sources do not say in which countries the rollout begins. They do not explain whether the WhatsApp Business app or Business Platform (API) accounts can create guest links. They do not describe a way for guests to join from a phone browser or an app; the announcement only covers a computer browser. And beyond later this year, no firm date is given for the calendar integrations. Our advice is to try the feature on your own account and confirm it works before tying customer appointments to it.
The UNALSOFT view
We read this as a decision about communication channels. Guest links make it easier to treat WhatsApp as a place for calls and not only for chat, but who creates the link, who greets the guest in the waiting room and how the brand comes across in that call are still choices the business has to make. On the brand management side, when WhatsApp is treated as part of the customer journey, we suggest testing new features like this on your own account first and only then adding them to sales and support routines. Because the sources say nothing about business accounts, this piece does not assume the feature works in the business app.
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