Facebook Messenger for Android now adds 'free' voice calling for India

As the buzz around VoIP calling for WhatsApp gathers pace, Facebook has quietly launched voice-calling functionality for Android users in India. Facebook had introduced voice calling over wireless network and data connection last year in March, and it took almost a year for the feature to finally roll out here, after being initially launched for US and Canada users.

So how does one make calls using Facebook Messenger? To use this feature, users have to simply select a conversation thread with a friend, and then tap on the 3-dot menu overflow icon on the upper right corner. You will find “Free Call” in the drop down menu, if your contact also has the ability to receive calls over data connection.

The call interface is quite simple. It shows the contact’s cover image in the background and his/her profile image at the center. The call time is maintained on the upper left corner. On the lower side of the screen, one will find touch icons like speaker, mute and an option to leave the call interface and navigate to other parts of the UI even while the call is on.

On making a call, we found the call quality quite decent. The app also asked us to rate the call quality. However, it should be noted that there is no free lunch, and one will incur data charges on making the “Free Call”.  In case the “Free Call” option is grayed, then it means the person cannot be called at the time. Facebook is believed to have launched the feature last week in India, and plans to extend the voice calling functionality other nations too.

Users can download the latest version of Facebook Messenger for Android from the Google Play Store .