Signal raises video group chat limit to 40 users

From now on, Signal allows up to 40 users to have a video call at the same time via its app. It has developed its own protocol for this, instead of the open source protocol that the app used until now.

Signal uses selective forwarding to do this, where each participant sends their video to a server, which then forwards it to every other participant in the conversation. Because the server cannot perceive the image and the audio, it is compatible with end-to-end encryption and it is possible to make video calls with 40 people at the same time, the company writes.

The challenge here is that the state of the connection can change for participants and therefore also the resolution that the server must forward to other participants. If that resolution is too high, the image may stutter or freeze. Therefore, each participant sends different resolutions to the server; after all, it cannot make changes itself and can therefore only choose the correct resolution.

With the move, Signal now supports more participants in a video call than competitor WhatsApp. With this chat app it is possible to have a video call with up to eight participants. It is unknown if and when Meta will respond to Signal’s move by increasing the number of participants per video call.