Is It Safe? Is It Worth the Hype?
For people who are looking for a new way to call people, this WhatsCall app review may have a lot of answers to questions you have. WhatsApp seemed to emerge out of nowhere and become the app of choice for so many people. It was featured on television shows, internet lists, and so much more.
Launched by Cheetah Mobile Inc. in October of 2019, it quickly became the top app for people who are traveling abroad, those who are on limited phone plans, or those who have friends in other countries.
What is WhatsCall?
WhatsCall is an app which allows you to make free voice calls to friends, family, or colleagues in other countries. It uses a Wi-Fi or other internet connection to help you call someone using a mobile phone or tablet. It can also be used within your country if you want to limit phone calls, use another phone number, or send texts that are hidden from your built-in messaging app.
It is important to note that there are some limitations here. WhatsCall cannot call landlines or other mobile phones. Instead, it is only available to call other WhatsCall users. You cannot call a friend’s phone using it, even if they are connected to Wi-Fi.
How to Use WhatsCall
- Download the app
- Verify using your phone number
- Import your contacts
- Start calling using free (or paid) credits
- Connecting can take longer than a traditional phone call
To use the WhatsCall app, you first have to download the application from the Google Play Store. It is also available in other stores, including the Apple Store. The app is simple to set up. Just follow the prompts and it should start quickly. If you get confused, there is a walk-through available and plenty of YouTube videos to help you if you are still lost.
You will need to verify using your own mobile number. This has to be a real number because you will receive a text message with a code. From there, you will do more of the same: create a password, add your name, and add a picture. After finishing up, you can start using the WhatsCall app.
There are some other integrations to consider. It will try to read your contact list. You can allow this or you can deny that right. However, the app will need to read your location in order to work. This is because it needs to know your country code, not for more nefarious purposes.
From there on, it is really simple to use WhatsCall because it looks just like any other calling app or phone you’ve used.
All you need to do is tap on the call button on the toolbar and go from there. You can either click on one of your contacts or dial the number in as you would on a traditional phone. If you are calling a different country, you will need to select the country code.
One great feature here is that when you enter the country code, you will be able to see what time it is in that country—ensuring you won’t call your aunt at 4 AM or your boyfriend while he is in an important meeting at work. Once you hit call, you will be connected shortly.
One note: it is important to prepare this person for your call, if possible. The number they see popping up on the phone will not be your phone number, which can cause some confusion.
If you are having trouble using WhatsCall, it could be that you did not give the app enough permissions. Go into your settings and make sure you give full permissions in order for it to work properly. I noticed it could be permissions you wouldn’t even think mattered which can cause things to go wrong.
Texting & Other Features
- Texting options
- Photo sharing
As most of us don’t only use our phones for calling, there are some other features built into the WhatsApp interface. The service allows you to send free text messages to numbers in your phone.
It looks and feels similar to the built-in texting app on your phone. There is another feature (called “Moments”) that helps you to upload and send images. You can store a few of these images in WhatsCall.
Other features enable you to add contacts solely on WhatsCall. It will not update your existing contacts on your phone. However, if you update the contacts in your phone, it will update the contacts in WhatsCall.
Is it Safe?
In general, WhatsCall is a safe Android app. While using any app, there are some things to take into consideration. For more information about what you might be giving up, you can look into the user agreement that you sign. WhatsCall may be able to take some of your information, but it doesn’t read anything else on your phone.
Still, you may want to think twice about some of the information you share via texting or the photos you upload.
Call Rates
When you first sign up for an account, you will get 1,000 call credits. If you want more credits, there are different ways to get them. You can earn more credits via videos or specific tasks, or you can buy them using a credit card or PayPal.
Verification
As mentioned above, you will need to verify your number by entering a code. You cannot use a fake number. This is partly to keep people safe and partly to track numbers so that people don’t use WhatsCall for bad reasons.
Overall, WhatsCall is a good option for people who are looking to make calls to people in other countries or if they just don’t want to give their number to someone. There are some bugs and some problems to work through, including some difficulty connecting at times, but it works pretty well overall.
