WhatsApp is testing picture-in-picture mode for video calls on iOS

The feature should let you minimize your video call while you open other apps, but it won’t start rolling out to everyone until next year.

WhatsApp is working on a picture-in-picture mode for iOS that will let you open up other apps while on a video call. In a post on the WhatsApp blog, the company says the feature’s currently in beta testing and that it will become widely available starting next year.

The feature, which WABetaInfo first spotted earlier this month, should minimize your call while allowing you to access other apps. While some Android devices already let you use picture-in-picture mode with certain apps, including WhatsApp, the messaging service doesn’t support the iPhone’s picture-in-picture feature released in iOS 14. Either way, it sounds like natively integrating the feature should come in handy when collaborating on a project during a video call (or maybe for browsing the web if you start getting bored).

Some other smaller changes include waveforms that will now appear when people with their cameras turned off are speaking, along with banner notifications whenever someone joins a call. According to WABetaInfo, the platform’s also working on expanding its View Once feature to regular text messages instead of only photos and videos.