WhatsappOTT messaging app WhatsApp may be introducing VoIP calling and recording to its next version, despite potential legal challenges over privacy rights.

With a pool of over 600m active users, WhatsApp’s entry into the VoIP market could well see it challenge established names like Viber, Skype, Google Hangout and Tango, and further chip away at telecom company profits that have been hurt by its free messaging service.

However, the integration of VoIP recording into the app, as reported by Geektime, could well land the company in legal trouble, given that in many countries it is illegal to record a telephone conversation without both parties’ consent. While other VoIP services such as Skype and Google Voice allow for recording add-ons, the new WhatsApp functionality is rumoured to include recording as standard, and prominently displayed.

The inclusion of the potentially privacy-threatening recording function stands at odds with a recent blog post by WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum, who wrote: “Above all else, I want to make sure you understand how deeply I value the principle of private communication. Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA, and we built WhatsApp around the goal of knowing as little about you as possible: You don’t have to give us your name and we don’t ask for your email address.”