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How do i use whatsapp internationally


How to make a free international call using WhatsApp

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Twenty years ago, if you wanted to make an international phone call, you would have to use a landline phone and pay a lot of money for the privilege. But with the internet, those days are long gone. With messaging apps like WhatsApp, you can now make international calls all for the cost of the internet data it consumes. Here’s how to make a free international call on WhatsApp and even reduce the internet data that call will consume.

Read more: How to use WhatsApp: A step-by-step beginner’s guide

QUICK ANSWER

To make a WhatsApp call, select the contact you want to call. Then choose either the phone icon or the video icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen. WhatsApp will ask for access to the camera and microphone.

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  • How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (Android and iOS)
  • How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (desktop app)

How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (Android and iOS)

To make a call on the WhatsApp mobile app, go to the contact you wish to call. In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see icons for phone and video. Tap on the one you want to use. If this is the first time you’re making such a call, your phone will ask permission to access and use your camera and microphone.

The call will then start ringing. You can switch between audio and video calling at any time by tapping the video and audio icons. You can also mute yourself using the microphone icon.

How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (desktop app)

First, we should clarify that this is for the desktop app, not the web app. WhatsApp Web does not provide a call feature.

On the desktop app, go to the contact you want to call. In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see phone and video icons. Click on the one you want to use. If this is the first time you’re using the call function, your computer will ask you for camera and microphone access.

Once you click either the phone icon or video icon, it will ring. Even if you chose the phone icon, you could easily switch to a video call by clicking the video icon on the far left. Clicking the microphone button will mute you.

FAQs

Currently, WhatsApp Web does not have phone and video calls baked in.

If the person you’re calling is already in your phone’s contact list, then they’ll also show up on WhatsApp. If you don’t wish to put them in your phone’s contact book, we have a handy article on circumventing that requirement.

On the mobile app, go to Settings > Storage and Data. Toggle the option Use Less Data for Calls. This will lower the amount of data taken from your internet plan when you make WhatsApp phone calls. However, the downside is that the call quality may suffer slightly.

Yes. For WhatsApp to know the origin of the country of the person you’re calling, it needs the country’s dialing code. If you don’t know the country code, you can look it up here. Note that instead of the 0 at the start of the dialing code, you must instead type a +. You can accomplish this by holding down the 0 key on a mobile device.

WhatsApp calls are free of charge. The amount of data deducted from your monthly internet data plan is the only real “cost.” This is not an issue if you have an unlimited data plan.

Using WhatsApp for International Calls

This article explains how to use WhatsApp for international calls and some of the most important points you need to consider when relying on WhatsApp for international calls. WhatsApp is extremely useful for texting, voice messaging, sharing photos/videos and even calling, all for free. However, using WhatsApp to call internationally has its limitations. Fortunately, Yolla offers a solution. Here’s our complete rundown on using WhatsApp for International Calls.

By the end of this article, you’ll know:

  • How to make international calls with WhatsApp
  • Whether WhatsApp charges for international calls
  • Whether WhatsApp charges for international texts
  • How to make calls to any mobile or landline anywhere in the world for cheap or free

Can You Make International Calls With WhatsApp?

You can make international calls with WhatsApp, but you can only make calls to a phone with WhatsApp installed.  

WhatsApp is a VoIP calling app, which basically means it uses the internet to connect calls. As long as you have an internet connection, you can use WhatsApp for international calls to other people with WhatsApp installed on their phone. 

How to Use WhatsApp for International Calls

How do I make international calls on WhatsApp?

Using WhatsApp for international calls is the same as making a local call with WhatsApp. You just select the person you want to call from within the app and tap the ‘call’ button.

It makes no difference which country you are in when calling via WhatsApp. As long as you have a connection to the internet, then you can use this app for international calls. 

Keep in mind that you may be charged for your internet usage while on a WhatsApp call, depending on how you gain access to the internet.

Does WhatsApp Charge for International Calls?

Are international calls free on WhatsApp?

Because all calls via WhatsApp are made over an internet connection, WhatsApp doesn’t charge you for making calls, but you may incur data or roaming charges from your carrier if you are signed up for such services. It all depends on your agreement with your carrier.

To avoid paying anything for your WhatsApp calls, try to find a free WiFi connection and turn off your data or roaming. Then, connect via WiFi and you won’t pay a thing. 

Are WhatsApp International Video Calls Free?

You can use WhatsApp to make international video calls for free. However, you can only make video calls via WhatsApp with people who have WhatsApp installed on their phone. Also, while you WhatsApp doesn’t charge you for making video calls using WhatsApp overseas, your carrier may charge you for the data consumed while using your mobile internet.

To make international video calls for free with WhatsApp without being charged by your carrier, try to find and connect to a public WiFi connection. Also, turn off roaming as well as your data connection.

Does WhatsApp Charge for International Texts?

Using WhatsApp to send international texts works in a similar way as using WhatsApp for calls. As long as you have an internet connection, you can use WhatsApp to send international texts to any phone with WhatsApp installed. 

As with making calls, keep in mind that you can be charged for data consumed while using WhatsApp for international texts. This depends on your agreement with your carrier. If you’re on a roaming plan while abroad, your data charges for using any app, including WhatsApp, can be big. 

What if You Need to Call Internationally to a Mobile or Landline?

If you have tried using WhatsApp overseas for international calling, you may have realized WhatsApp is good for international calls but it’s incredibly limiting.

One of our beloved users was traveling for business in the States. He’d set up roaming with his local carrier before departing to ensure he’d have solid connectivity upon arrival. You have to always be on call on such trips! 

As luck would have it, when he touched down in the States, he had no connection – there was a problem with his roaming connection with his carrier. Without many options, he decided to download Yolla, buy credit and called his local carrier back home. 

They talked for half an hour before the carrier discovered the problem on their side. The funny thing was that they saw his personal number on their caller ID, despite the fact that he was calling from the US! They solved the problem and he’d spent less than $3 on that call.

If you’re in a foreign country and you need to call directly to a mobile phone or landline, you can use Yolla.

Yolla – WhatsApp International Calls Alternative

Yolla is a great all-in-one app for making international calls and texts to mobiles and landlines in 190+ countries around the world. In short, it’s cheap and reliable, giving people a way to stay connected to friends and loved ones around the world for the lowest rates on the market. 

It has some other highly valuable features, like being able to keep your number and your credits don’t expire:

  • Keep your number: When you make a call, the recipient sees your number on their caller ID and knows it’s you calling.
  • Credits that don’t expire: You don’t need to worry about using your credits or losing them.
  • Low rates on all calls to cell phones and landlines
  • International texting at low rates
  • Reliable, HD quality calls with no lag or interference
  • Easy-to-use interface that never confuses you
  • Chance to earn credits to call for free
  • 24/7 customer/technical support
  • Free, unlimited calling app-to-app

A key benefit for Yolla users is the low rates. For example, a one-hour international call to the US with Yolla costs only $0.48. 

Download Yolla Today

To start making international calls with more freedom and lower rates today, download Yolla by clicking the button below. And don’t forget to join the referral program to call for FREE!

Download Yolla free today:

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The Ministry of Education banned WhatsApp and other Western messengers for teachers in schools

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The Ministry of Education banned teachers from using WhatsApp and other foreign messengers in the educational process or at work and recommended replacing them with VK Messenger, Kommersant found out from the regional authorities. In some regions, parental chats are also transferred from WhatsApp, but the Ministry of Education notes that they did not give such instructions

The Ministry of Education demanded that the regions limit the use of foreign messengers in the educational process in schools. Kommersant writes about this with reference to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Khabarovsk Territory and the administration of the Kursk Region. The regions reported that such a requirement was contained in a letter from the federal ministry. The same letter recommended that schools use the VK Messenger and the Sferum training platform, developed by a joint venture between VK and Rostelecom, to be tested. nine0005

Finished reading here

The Ministry of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod region said that school workers were advised to stop using Western messaging and information services such as WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, Google Drive, etc. “Restrictions will help eliminate the possibility of leakage of confidential information,” they said in the regional department, without mentioning the initiator of the restrictions. Participants in parental chats in a number of Russian regions reported that teachers recommend schoolchildren's parents to transfer their communication from foreign messengers. So, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, they advise "to exclude the possibility of using foreign Internet services", and in the Amur region they create chats for parents in Telegram instead of WhatsApp, which is already preferred by those. nine0005

Related material

The Ministry of Education reported that they sent recommendations not to use foreign messengers, but they only concerned work with the state system "My School" and its components, and did not regulate the scope and channels of communication between parents. The transfer of school teachers and university professors was planned by the authorities back in 2021 under the program "Creating Additional Conditions for the Development of the Information Technology Industry". It involves the development of e-mail services, instant messengers, audio and video conferencing, and other digital services of domestic development. nine0005

The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and VK agreed in September 2022 to use VK Messenger, VK Calls and Mail.ru Mail in schools when implementing the FSIS My School. VK CEO Vladimir Kiriyenko admitted at the Kazan Digital Week forum that parental chats are conducted mainly in foreign messengers. His speech was devoted to the confirmed official pages of state institutions in social networks.

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In April, the Ministry of Digital Development compiled a list of social networks, instant messengers, services and programs that Russians can use instead of foreign analogues, the owners of which announced their decision to leave the Russian market. It recommends the social networks VK, Odnoklassniki, Yappy, YaRUS and My World and Telegram messengers, TamTam, TenChat, ICQ and Frisbee. Pages in social networks by December 1 must appear in state bodies and their subordinate organizations. In September, the government approved two social networks suitable for fulfilling this requirement: VKontakte and Odnoklassniki (both owned by VK). Kiriyenko noted at the Kazan Digital Week forum that by September school pages accounted for 16% of more than 12,000 public publications. nine0005

Director General of the Internet Research Institute Karen Kazarian believes that the regulation of parent chats is probably a private initiative at the level of teachers or school principals. Pavel Skripnichenko, head of the Kontur.Tolk and Kontur.Klass projects, added that WhatsApp has served teachers for many years to resolve work issues, correspondence with parents and students. On WhatsApp, the ban on the activities of Meta (the owner of the messenger, recognized as extremist in Russia and banned) does not apply, unlike social networks owned by the company, the court decided. nine0005

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At the end of May, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko instructed the Ministry of Digital Development to recommend that officials and senior officials of the regions transfer work correspondence to Russian messaging services. The office of the deputy chairman of the government then told Kommersant that they meant a specific messenger - part of the automated workplace of a civil servant developed by VK. By the end of 2023, it is planned to create a federal state system on its basis, to which all civil servants will be connected, the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development told the newspaper. nine0005

The VKontakte social network at the end of May launched a separate application for communication - VK Messenger. As reported by the company, users will be able to communicate in VK Messenger both with friends from VKontakte and with contacts from the phone book. The functionality of the application largely repeats the original program. VK Messenger provides group chats, unlimited audio and video calls, the ability to record audio messages and read their transcripts, send music, stickers, photos, videos and stories. Users can also share their geolocation, transfer money, and send files up to 2 GB in size. nine0005

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    Editorial Forbes

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How to use one WhatsApp number on two smartphones

Even though WhatsApp lags far behind many other communication services in terms of functionality , this software is still the most popular and widespread in the world, and more than 2 billion people use it on a regular basis. However, messenger developers are gradually moving towards closing the gap from many other services, including Telegram, Viber and others. Today, 29April 2020, a new version of this service was released, and it allows you to use one number on two smartphones or other devices at once, on which it is possible to install the official application of this messenger, available to everyone for free download from Google Play and the App Store.

One of the biggest disadvantages of WhatsApp is being tied to a single phone. Because of this, it is impossible, for example, to correspond with two different phones from one account, which, of course, brings a whole lot of inconvenience in some cases. Almost all other instant messengers currently available on the market do not have such a shortcoming, so many people prefer to communicate using them. The development team of the most common communication service in the world understands that the absence of such an opportunity can actually be considered nothing but a very significant drawback. However, the situation is changing, because back in December 2019year, the creators of the messenger began to work on a new feature.

This feature allows you to use WhatsApp on two electronic devices at once, and at the same time. A few hours ago, a beta version of the messenger was released under the number 2.20.143, which allows you to send and receive messages from one number from several smartphones at once. Currently, in order to formally connect two phones into one, you must first connect them to each other within the same Wi-Fi network, while then they can fully work. This is necessary in order to synchronize the initial correspondence with all media files and call history. Then, after that, the new data will start to be displayed on two messengers at the same time. Most likely, we are talking about integration at the level of messenger servers. nine0005

The new feature has just begun to be tested, but you can already use it by installing the beta version of the messenger for smartphones based on Android and iOS operating systems. However, the developers themselves have not yet made any statements on this subject, so at any time it may become unavailable, or it may not work correctly.

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