Signal Increases Group Call Limit to 40, Exceeds WhatsApp’s Limit

Last Updated on December 16, 2021 by Anu Joy

Signal, the app used to send encrypted chats, audio, and video messages, can now support group calls with up to 40 participants. Previously, the app would limit group calls to only five people.

Early this year, WhatsApp had said that it would be changing its terms and services agreement, which said that it will start sending personal data to its parent company Facebook. Unsurprisingly, many users of the popular messaging app did not want Zuckerberg reading their chats, which led them to other chat apps like Signal and Telegram.

Signal uses encrypted end-to-end communication using its own open-source Signal Protocol. This will encrypt text, group chats, voice messages, photos, and videos. The app creators highlight that not only are the messages encrypted, but the metadata in those messages are also hidden. It doesn’t peddle ads, even though it is free to use.

Signal has been using existing open-source solutions for its video calls, which limited group calls to five participants. The Signal team resorted to building their own open-source Signal Calling Service to boost the number of participants that it could support. It used the selective forwarding technique to ensure that the app continues to have end-to-end encryption as well as a scaled-up system. This technique uses server to forward the audio and video to the participants without altering or viewing the content. The app says that it may even scale up to include more participants in the future.

WhatsApp, on the other hand, has been around for a longer time and has been offering end-to-end encrypted group video calls for the past three years. However, the company hasn’t made an effort to increase its group video call participant limit to more than eight. Signal’s new offering could possibly push WhatsApp to work on accommodating more people for group video calls.

Signal’s blog goes into great detail on how it built end-to-end encrypted group video calls for up to 40 participants. You should check it out if you’re into coding and web protocols.