With more and more of us engaging in family-style video chat and voice conversations, WhatsApp comes in handy as a safe and secure option for small groups limited to four participants. Unlike some audio, video, and chat apps, WhatsApp keeps your conversations private with end-to-end encryption.

With WhatsApp voice calling, you can call your contacts for free, because the app uses your phone’s internet connection as opposed to your cell plan’s minutes — though data charges may apply.

Not only is the app hardware and platform agnostic, but it is also, in essence, a mobile app that allows calls to be conducted on your smartphone or tablet. All you need to do is download the app and set up an account — and make sure other intended participants in the call or chat do the same. With that done, you’re ready to start yapping. Here’s how to get started with group calls on WhatsApp.

The following steps are for an iPhone with iOS 13 or later, and for an Android phone with Android 9 or later:

From an existing group chat, you can tap the Video or Voice Call icon to start a call with everyone in the chat. The following steps are for Android and iOS:

If you’re having a conversation with someone, and you both want to include another person, here’s how to do it:

WhatsApp now lets you place a call directly from a group conversation with up to eight people. Once you open a conversation, tap the Video icon to start a video call or the Phone icon to immediately begin a call.