Top 30 (Free) Video Chat and Conferencing Services

VIDEOTELEPHONY comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real time. A videophone is a telephone with a video display, capable of simultaneous video and audio for communication between people in real time. Videoconferencing implies the use of this technology for a group or organizational meeting rather than for individuals, in a videoconference. Telepresence may refer either to a high-quality videotelephony system (where the goal is to create the illusion that remote participants are in the same room) or to meetup technology, which goes beyond video into robotics (such as moving around the room or physically manipulating objects).

Although not as widely used in everyday communications as audio-only and text communication, useful applications include sign language transmission for deaf and speech-impaired people, distance education, telemedicine, and overcoming mobility issues. It is also used in commercial and corporate settings to facilitate meetings and conferences, typically between parties that already have established relationships. News media organizations have begun to use desktop technologies like Skype to provide higher-quality audio than the phone network, and video links at much lower cost than sending professional equipment or using a professional studio. More popular videotelephony technologies use the Internet rather than the traditional landline phone network, even accounting for modern digital packetized phone network protocols, and even though videotelephony software commonly runs on smartphones.

WEB CONFERENCING may be used as an umbrella term for various types of online collaborative services including webinars ("web seminars"), webcasts, and peer-level web meetings. It may also be used in a more narrow sense to refer only to the peer-level web meeting context, in an attempt to disambiguate it from the other types of collaborative sessions. Terminology related to these technologies is inexact, and no generally agreed upon source or standards organization exists to provide an established usage reference.

In general, web conferencing is made possible by Internet technologies, particularly on TCP/IP connections. Services may allow real-time point-to-point communications as well as multicast communications from one sender to many receivers. It offers data streams of text-based messages, voice and video chat to be shared simultaneously, across geographically dispersed locations. Applications for web conferencing include meetings, training events, lectures, or presentations from a web-connected computer to other web-connected computers.

Video Chat & Conferencing Services News, Reviews & Resources

• 4 BEST SATELLITE MESSENGERS FOR TRAVELING OFF-THE-GRID - "Stay safe and text your friends and family from every corner of the globe."
• 5 best chat apps for your coronavirus quarantine - ranked! - "Group video platforms are making a heroic rise from last resort to daily routine as people stay indoors. We tried five of the most popular ones out there."
• 15 hidden WhatsApp features that everyone should know about - The Telegraph.
• 17 best Facebook Messenger tips & tricks 2016 - PC Advisor.
• A Guide to Snapchat for People Who Don’t Get Snapchat - The New York Times.
• A Single App That’ll Wrangle Your Millions of Messengers - Wired.
• ‘After Boris Johnson’s Zoom call, all hell broke loose’: inside the world's favourite video app - "Ten years ago, Silicon Valley had written off Zoom. Now it’s used by everyone from princes to piano teachers."
• Animoji - iOS includes an animated emoji feature known as Animoji. This responds to facial expressions via the iPhone X camera, to animate various 3D animated emojis that can be sent as a video file with sound. Animoji does not replace any existing emoji support in iOS, and works exclusively as an iMessage app. In iOS 12, Animoji is also available in FaceTime, and joined by a 3D avatar feature called Memoji.
• Apple & Burberry develop ‘R Message’ chat tool for personalized shopping - "Apple is partnering with Burberry to help the luxury fashion retailer create a more personal shopping experience. A new service called “R Message” will integrate with Burberry’s iOS app and allow store associates to directly message select clients. The service will be available by invitation only and piloted before rolling out to every Burberry store."
• Apple explains how it’s making your iPhone a full-fledged webcam for your Mac - "A WWDC session details the new Continuity Camera for macOS 13 and iOS 16."
• Apple silently change FaceTime video calls on your iPhone for the better - "Apple made a change to a handful of iPhone models with the latest update - and didn't tell anyone. Thankfully, it's a positive change for anyone planning to video call friends and family over the Christmas period."
• Apple 'text bomb' can crash iPhones with single message - The Telegraph.
• Apple will let you use iPhones for video chats on Mac - "(Because its webcams stink). iPhone users are walking around with great cameras in their pockets, so why not use that with their Macs? That's the basic idea behind Continuity Camera, a new feature coming to macOS Ventura that'll let you plop an iPhone on top of your Mac, and use those mobile cameras to power video chats in FaceTime, Teams and any other conferencing app."
• Apple’s hidden setting instantly makes your video & audio calls sound better - "It doesn’t work everywhere, but when it does, it’s magic."
• best alternatives to Zoom for videoconferencing - "If recent news has made you Zoom-hesitant, there are other apps available."
• best free apps for video calling - "Work, chat, and party from home."
• Best Messaging Apps for 2020 and Beyond - "How can we define the best messaging apps? The truth is we can't really but what we can do is look at different uses, needs and popularity to give us a list of messenger apps to suit just about everyone."
• BlueJeans - by Verizon is a company that provides an interoperable cloud-based video conferencing service that connects participants across a wide range of devices and conferencing platforms.
• Can holograms & avatars replace Zoom video calls? - "Video meetings are now a permanent part of our work lives. Are there new solutions that can take out some of the agony?"
• ‘Can you hear me now?’ Study reveals why voices are raised on video calls - "Scientists find that as video quality deteriorates, people speak louder and alter gestures to compensate."
• Cisco Webex - American company that develops and sells web conferencing and videoconferencing applications.
• Discord (software) - proprietary freeware instant messaging and VoIP application and digital distribution platform designed for creating communities ranging from gamers to education and businesses. Discord specializes in text, image, video and audio communication between users in a chat channel. Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and in web browsers. As of 21 July 2019, there are over 250 million users of the software.
• DITCH FACEBOOK MESSENGER. USE MESSENGER LITE INSTEAD - Wired.
• Ditching Zoom? Here Are 10 Video Chat Alternatives You Can Use Instead - "There are plenty of video chat services to choose from, whether it's to talk to grandma, play games with friends or connect with colleagues."
• emoji - since 1999. Are ideograms and smileys used in electronic messages and web pages. Emoji exist in various genres, including facial expressions, common objects, places and types of weather, and animals. They are much like emoticons, but emoji are actual pictures instead of typographics.
• Everyone you know uses Zoom. That wasn't the plan - "Zoom grew into a vastly profitable business selling software to businesses that could enable a venture capital firm to seamlessly take virtual pitch meetings from around the globe or an executive to deliver an all-hands to a remote workforce."
• Facebook & Google are coming for Zoom - "If there's one company the pandemic has turned into a household name, it's Zoom. Amid the continued state lockdowns, the video conferencing platform has become a lifeline for schools and businesses and a gathering place for virtual cocktail hours, birthday parties, workout classes and even weddings. And that hasn't escaped the notice of some of the world's biggest technology companies, including Facebook and Google."
• Facebook Goes To War With Zoom, Introduces 50-Person Chat Feature - "Facebook is adding a new feature that lets users video chat with up to 50 people, a direct challenge to video conferencing apps Zoom and Houseparty, both of which have seen usage skyrocket amid the coronavirus pandemic."
• Facebook has a coronavirus problem. It's WhatsApp - "Governments and medical officials are scrambling to provide the public with accurate and timely information about the novel coronavirus. But those efforts are being undermined by the spread of medical misinformation and fake cures on one of the world's most popular messaging platforms."
• Facebook’s New Gadget Is a Video-Chat Screen With a Camera That Follows You - "On Monday, Facebook introduced Portal and Portal Plus, the fruits of its first major foray into designing, building and selling consumer hardware from scratch."
• Facebook’s New Zoom Competitor Adds Virtual Reality to Conference Calls. Here’s What It’s Like - "As the vague buzzword 'metaverse' snowballs into reality, today Facebook unveiled an intriguing peek into its plans for a collaborative online future. Facebook released a free beta for Horizon Workrooms, a 'mixed reality' meeting tool that the tech giant is calling its 'flagship collaboration experience.' Seemingly poised to compete with other remote communication platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, Workrooms offers something different: a virtual reality gathering space for business meetings and general productivity, built around the Oculus Quest 2."
• For Mobile Messaging, GIFs Prove to Be Worth at Least a Thousand Words - The New York Times.
• Full stop falling out of fashion thanks to instant messaging - The Telegraph.
• Google Meet - video-communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. Google planned to begin retiring Google Hangouts in October 2019.
• Google’s Hangouts Meet is now just Google Meet - "Google has rebranded its videoconferencing service."
• Google’s Reply app is woefully bland - The Verge.
• How I hosted my first charity stream, and how you can host one, too - "So you’ve decided to charity stream."
• how lockdown has triggered a wave of sexting - "From celebrities posting nude photographs to ordinary women sharing erotic challenges with each other, getting risqué online has become a welcome distraction."
• How signal became the messaging app for an age of fear & distrust - "The Inside Story of How Signal Became the Private Messaging App for an Age of Fear and Distrust."
• How smart are Gmail’s ‘smart replies’? - "When Seamas O’Reilly responded to all his emails for a week using only Smart Reply, our columnist’s messages suddenly became spookily jaunty. Did his friends spot the difference?"
• HOW TO BACK UP ALL THE TEXT MESSAGES ON YOUR IPHONE - Wired.
• How to become a wine connoisseur on Zoom - "With many retailers offering online tastings and masterclasses, the lockdown presents a rare opportunity to swot up on viniculture."
• How to Emoji-Flirt Like a Real Teenager - Wired.
• How to Keep Your Zoom Chats Private & Secure - "Trolls. Prying bosses. Zoom's a great video chat platform, but a few simple steps also make it a safe one."
• How to look your best on a video call - "Five tips for looking (and sounding) great."
• How to Make WhatsApp Voice & Video Calls From Your Laptop - "WhatsApp is more than just a text chat service - you’ve been able to use it to make voice and video calls for as long as I can remember. In fact, WhatsApp has even bolstered its video chat capabilities during amid these cheery pandemic times, and now allows you to converse with up to 50 people at a time. But you still have to do it via the mobile app, which isn’t nearly as useful as being able to do the same things on a desktop app."
• HOW TO SAVE TEXT MESSAGES ON YOUR IPHONE - Wired.
• How to secure your video calls like a pro - "Zoom me, maybe."
• How to set up a Slack account - The Verge.
• How to Stop WhatsApp From Giving Facebook Your Phone Number - Wired.
• HOW TO TURN OFF SNAPCHAT’S STALKERISH SNAP MAP FEATURE - Wired.
• How to turn your digital camera or iPhone into a powerful webcam - "Level up your Zoom meetings, Twitch streams, and even Skype calls by shifting away from the built-in webcam in favor of a better camera."
• How to use FaceTime for group calls - "Yes, you can FaceTime more than one person at a time."
• How to Use Slack Without Driving Your Coworkers Crazy - "Many of us use it at work, but here are some tips on how to make Slack work for you. (Stop. Hitting. Enter. So. Often.)"
• How to Use Snapchat: Critical Tips for New Users - Wired.
• How to use your high-end camera as a webcam - "If you’re lucky, you might not need to buy anything extra."
• How to use your iPhone or Android as a webcam: It's actually simple - "If you're looking for an easy and cost-effective way to upgrade your work-from-home setup, you can use your phone to improve the video quality on video chat apps such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Here's how."
• How WeChat came to rule China - The Verge.
• In The Age Of Zoom Happy Hours, Addiction Treatment Goes Online Too - "Drinking has gone digital. As the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered restaurants and bars and grounded everyone at home, Zoom happy hours have become the new venue to catch up with friends and blow off steam."
• Instagram offers access to DMs on the web - "It's a limited test for now."
• Instagram’s latest assault on Snapchat is a messaging app called Threads - "The app promotes sharing your status, location, and more with your closest friends."
• Instant messaging | IM - online chat which offers real-time text transmission over the Internet.
• iOS 15: Here’s everything new in FaceTime - "FaceTime is one of the key apps receiving a lot of love from Apple in iOS 15. With the new operating system now available for iPhone users, people are able to join the conversation with friends on Android and Windows, and so much more. Here’s everything new in FaceTime."
• It's been 25 years since the first SMS message was sent - December 3, 1992.
• Jitsi - collection of free and open-source multiplatform voice (VoIP), videoconferencing and instant messaging applications for the web platform, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android.
• MARK ZUCKERBERG ON HOW VIDEO CHAT NEEDS TO EVOLVE FOR THE PANDEMIC - "Facebook’s CEO on building Rooms now, virtual reality later, and the massive acceleration in virtual connections."
• Memoji - Memoji is a new feature in iOS 12 that allows users to customize a 3D avatar in an emoji-like style. Requires iPhone X (2017) or above running iOS 12.0. Each Memoji can be sent as a static sticker or video with audio in a similar fashion to the existing Animoji functionality.
• Messenger Rooms are Facebook’s answer to Zoom & Houseparty for the pandemic - "Facebook is greatly expanding its video chat offerings to keep up with rising demand."
• Microsoft rolls out Teams Premium with OpenAI-powered features - "The service will soon offer automatically generated meeting notes with the help of GPT-3.5."
• Microsoft Teams - Wikipedia.
• Microsoft Teams is adding Maybelline’s AI-powered ‘makeup’ filters - "The Maybelline Beauty app adds 12 AI-powered ‘digital makeup’ looks for Teams Enterprise users to apply during meetings."
• Microsoft Teams now lets you upload your own photos as background images on video calls - "Hide that messy home office with any image you choose."
• Mmhmm, Five-Month-Old Video Startup Making Virtual Meetings More Fun, Raises $31 Million Pre-Launch - Forbes.
• Mmhmm turns your boring Zoom call into a Weekend Update-style TV show - "The next generation of videoconferencing is now in beta."
• new Microsoft Teams is here with big performance improvements & UI changes - "Microsoft Teams has been totally overhauled to run faster and have a more simplified interface."
• Nvidia says its AI can fix some of the biggest problems in video calls - "Face alignment, noise reduction, and AI-powered superresolution."
• Online chat - refer to any kind of communication over the Internet that offers a real-time transmission of text messages from sender to receiver.
• People are texting phone numbers identical to their own, with one key difference. Meet the 'number neighbor' - "Knock knock. Who's there? It's your (number) neighbor! Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?"
• Personal message - "Personal message, private message (PM), direct message (DM), or personal chat (PC) is a private form of messaging between different members on a given platform. It is only seen and accessible by the users participating in the message. It has grown popular because of the increasing demand for privacy and collaboration in this society where the public sharing domain dominates."
• Queen takes part in first ever video call for royal duties - "The 94-year-old British monarch and her daughter Princess Anne spoke to a group of carers to mark Carers Week, according to a post from the official Royal Family Twitter account on Thursday."
• Real-time text | RTT - text transmitted instantly as it is being typed or created. Recipients can immediately read the message while it is being written, without waiting.
• Riot.im - free and open-source software instant messaging client based on the Matrix protocol and is distributed under the Apache License 2.0. Because it uses the federated Matrix protocol, Riot.im lets the user choose a server to connect to. Additionally, Riot.im supports end-to-end encryption, groups, channels and sharing of files between users. It is available as a web application, as desktop apps for all major operating systems and as a mobile app for Android and iOS.
• Signal, secure messaging app: a guide for beginners - Freedom of the Press Foundation.
• Should Grown Men Use Emoji? - The New York Times.
• Should you delete TikTok? Here’s what experts say about the app Trump wants to ban - "With the US government considering banning the China-based video-sharing app, here’s what you need to know."
• Should You Reconsider Using WhatsApp After the Jeff Bezos Hack? Probably Not - TIME Magazine.
• Skype rolls out 'Meet Now' calls that don't need a sign-up or installation - "Is this enough to pull anyone away from Zoom?"
• SKYPE STRUGGLES HAVE CREATED A ZOOM MOMENT - "Skype is missing out to Zoom and others during the coronavirus pandemic."
• Slack is ruining my life and I love it - CNN Business.
• Slack Wants to Replace Email. Is That What We Want? - "As the office chat start-up prepares to go public, some of us are still figuring out how available we want to be - and whether it’s O.K. to ping the C.E.O."
• Snapchat creators earn serious money from making AR filters - CNN Business.
• Snapchat stock loses $1.3 billion after Kylie Jenner tweet - CNN Tech.
• Software and protocols - Wikipedia.
• Text messages that end in a period seen as less sincere - ScienceDaily.
• The lost art of having a chat: what happened when I stopped texting & started talking - "We are more connected than ever, but we rarely seem to really speak to each other. So, Rebecca Nicholson decided to try."
• The safest messaging apps - "Not all encrypted messaging apps are the same."
• The single most valuable writing skill - "How mastering this will make your writing compelling and authoritative."
• The tyranny of messaging & notifications - The Verge.
• The way we text says a lot about our personality - "Does using lowercase letters really make you seem more chill?"
• The Wired Guide to Your Personal Data (and Who Is Using It) - Wired.
• This LED desk lamp gave me the best lighting for video calls - "It even has two USB charging ports, too."
• This Secret Smartphone Feature Can Help You Write Text Messages Much More Quickly - TIME Magazine.
• TikTok: Beneath Its Fun Exterior Lies A Sinister Purpose - "Three years since TikTok was launched, the video-sharing social network grown rapidly to accumulate more than two billion downloads, one of the most popular apps of the moment, beating even Instagram or YouTube in consumption time in the United States, United Kingdom or Spain, particularly among younger age segments."
• TikTok: the Chinese lip-syncing app taking over America - "A video-sharing app is has become the most popular free app on the App Store in the US."
• True Private Messaging - 7 Apps to Encrypt Your Chats.
• Twitter is shutting down its Periscope apps - "Periscope’s apps will be shut down by March 2021. Twitter will, however, continue to offer live video streaming through its integrated Twitter Live feature within the main Twitter app."
• Video calls are coming to Instagram - The Verge.
• Videotelephony - Wikipedia.
• Virtual meetings can crush creativity, new study finds - "Collaboration has been behind some of humanity's greatest achievements - the Beatles' biggest hits, putting a man on the moon, the smartphone. Do Zoom and other forms of video interaction crush the creative process that led to such feats? Yes, according to new research published Wednesday that found it's easier to come up with creative ideas in person."
• Web conferencing - Wikipedia.
• WeChat breaks 700 million monthly active users - Business Insider.
• What's wrong with WhatsApp - "As social media has become more inhospitable, the appeal of private online groups has grown. But they hold their own dangers - to those both inside and out."
• WhatsApp debuts coronavirus fact-checking hub - "The company also donated $1 million to support fact-checking organizations."
• WhatsApp Discovered Malware That Infects Phones With a Missed Call - "Spyware crafted by an 'advanced cyber actor,' reportedly an Israeli company, infected multiple targeted mobile phones through WhatsApp's in-app voice calls."
• WhatsApp discovers 'targeted' surveillance attack - "Hackers were able to remotely install surveillance software on phones and other devices using a major vulnerability in messaging app WhatsApp, it has been confirmed."
• WhatsApp Just Stopped Working For Millions Of iPhone And Android Users, Here’s What To Do - "As of today (February 1), WhatsApp will stop working on millions of iPhones and Android devices running older operating systems. Smartphones affected are those on Apple iOS 8 or earlier and devices using Google Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread or prior versions."
• WhatsApp: Mark Zuckerberg reveals new privacy features - "Users will be able to leave group chats silently, control who can see their online status and block screenshots on View Once messages."
• WhatsApp now has 2 billion users - "And it has no plans to drop end-to-end encryption."
• Whatsapp starts rolling out two-factor authentication - engadget.
• WhatsApp tightens limits on message forwarding to counter coronavirus misinformation - "WhatsApp is trying to stem the rapid spread of coronavirus misinformation by placing new limits on the number of times a forwarded message can be shared simultaneously."
• WhatsApp to stop working on millions of phones - "Messaging service WhatsApp will no longer work on millions of smartphones from 1 February."
• WhatsApp Upgrade Warning: Here’s What 2 Billion Users Need To Know - "Users are now being exposed to a recurring security risk. That risk revolves around a warning that spread about a malicious WhatsApp message that first appeared back in 2016. The warning, which spread virally as these things have a habit of doing, involved a supposed WhatsApp invitation to upgrade to WhatsApp Gold. Accept the invite, and users would be asked to click a download link, which in turn would install malware on their device."
• WhatsApp Users To Get This Killer New Update: Just Perfect Timing - "The issue for users right now is the limit on the number of people who can join in a video call—currently just four. But that’s about to change. As discovered by the ever vigilant beta code detectives at WABetaInfo, the number of callers is about to increase. The code to expand video calling is buried in both the beta iOS and Android apps, so it’s a change for everyone, but only if all callers have the latest version of the app installed once it’s released."
• WhatsApp Users To Get This Radical New Update: Just Perfect Timing - "This next update is the most radical, stretching the bounds of end-to-end encryption and forcing decisions as to how WhatsApp handles the secure storage of our message and media histories."
• Why do diplomats use this alien WhatsApp emoji for Vladimir Putin? - The Guardian.
• Why Google can't stop making messaging apps - engadget.
• Why I turned on iMessage "Encrypted chat is a moral imperative."
• Why is video conferencing so exhausting? - "Zoom fatigue is a real thing."
• Why virtual team-building activities feel agonising - "The words ‘team building’ may stoke fear in our hearts at the best of times, but during a pandemic, they often mean several extra hours on Zoom - something we could all live without."
• Why the UN’s 75th general assembly could be worse than the world’s worst Zoom meeting - "The worst parts of UN events will be on display, the endless speechifying first among them, but none of what normally makes the general assembly indispensable."
• Why we can't stop waving at the end of video calls - "Why did we all start waving? Experts have several explanations. As video calling becomes a default way of communicating during the pandemic, people adjust and adapt their behaviors accordingly -- plus they're craving more of a human connection."
• Why we’re obsessed with Zoom backdrops: from Anna Wintour to Meryl Streep - "The pandemic has forced us to make our private spaces into public ones. Here’s how to get it right."
• Why Zoom became so popular - "Its selling points also introduce privacy and security risks."
• YOU CAN SEND INVISIBLE MESSAGES WITH SUBTLE FONT TWEAKS - Wired.
• You’re Still on Mute - "Hybrid or remote work is settling in as a permanent reality for millions. Their setups and technical skills can still feel like a temporary solution."
• YouTube is finally letting creators know exactly how they’re making money on YouTube - "A new metric called RPM pulls in multiple revenue sources."
• YouTube’s New Messenger Means You’ll Never Have to Leave YouTube - Wired.
• Yubo - French social networking app designed to "make new friends" and creating a sense of community. It was launched by TWELVE APP in 2015 and is available on iOS and Android. Geared towards teenagers and young adults aged 13 to 25, the app allows users to create video livestreams with up to 10 friends. The app has more than 25 million users worldwide.
• Zoom backgrounds that make you look more - or less - trustworthy, according to experts - "To inspire the most trust in those you interact with during video meetings, ensure you have plants or books strategically positioned behind you. That’s according to new research, which looks at how people’s choice of Zoom background could be helping or hindering them."
• Zoom booms as teleconferencing company profits from coronavirus crisis - "The teleconferencing company made $27m in the first quarter and expects sales to double despite security and privacy fears."
• Zoom Face: How To Look (and Feel) Your Best On Those Constant Video Calls - Forbes.
• Zoom is being sued for allegedly handing over data to Facebook - "A Zoom user has filed a class-action lawsuit against the video-conferencing company for passing on data to third parties like Facebook without properly notifying users."
• ZOOM IS GIVING FANDOMS A NEW PLACE TO HANG - "Fans are using Zoom to connect with people they’ve never met before."
• ‘Zoom is malware’: why experts worry about the video conferencing platform - "The company has seen a 535% rise in daily traffic in the past month, but security researchers say the app is a ‘privacy disaster’."
• Zoom is now 'the Facebook of video apps' - "Yet another startup that takes our privacy. Seriously."
• Zoom Is Now Worth More Than ExxonMobil - And Founder Eric Yuan’s Net Worth Has Nearly Doubled In Three Months - "As of 2:30 p.m. ET, Zoom sported a market valuation of $139 billion, compared to Exxon’s $138.9 billion. Zoom began the year with a market cap of $19 billion. While Zoom posted $1.35 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Exxon, by comparison, posted $213.8 billion in revenue during that time period."
• Zoom launches paid-for live events with OnZoom - "Video calling app Zoom has announced a system to let people pay for live 'online experiences.'"
• Zoom paid accounts reportedly will get strong encryption for calls - "End-to-end encryption won’t be coming to all customers’ video calls, however."
• Zoom Promises To Do Better After Banning Tiananmen Square Protests - Then Builds Tech To Help China’s Censorship - "Already under fire for security lapses and facing scrutiny over its links to China, Zoom made the startling decision earlier this month to ban three users organizing memorials to mark the Tiananmen Square massacre at the request of Beijing. It’s now reversed the decision, according to a company post released late Thursday. But it’s still going to help China block accounts of users in the country."
• Zoom releases security updates in response to 'Zoom-bombings' - "Company has struggled to meet security needs as user base has risen sharply amid coronavirus lockdown."
• Zoom shares encription keys with China - "Zoom, the videoconferencing giant that’s been both hero and villain of the coronavirus age, sends user data to China, according to researchers."
• 'Zoom shirt': how the pandemic changed work dress codes - "Home working has relaxed work attire but even as many return to the office some trends could be here to stay."
• Zoom updates iOS app to remove code that sent device data to Facebook - "Users should update to the latest version."
• Zoom will provide end-to-end encryption to all users after privacy backlash - "Civil rights groups decried plan to exclude free calls from video calling app’s encryption services."
• Zoom will soon let you report meeting participants to help bust Zoombombers - "The feature will be available starting April 26th."
• Zoom's End-to-End Encryption Will Be for Paying Customers Only - "The videoconferencing company says it wants to be able to work with law enforcement to catch bad actors on its platform."
• 'Zoombombing' targeted with new version of app - "Zoom has said it will release an improved version of its hugely popular video conferencing app this week."
• Zoomed out: how can we politely tell people we’d rather not chat? - "Video fatigue is real, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith, and now is a good time to be candid about emotional needs."
• Zumping: the rise of Zoom breakups - "The search for love continues - and so does the ending of once-promising relationships. Now, though, all this is happening via videoconference."

Top 30 (Free) Video Chat & Conferencing Services | Videotelephony

• Any Meeting - since 1995. "Video Conferencing. FREE Until 2021." Intermedia AnyMeeting™ is a powerful online meeting solution built for businesses of all sizes. Our easy to use meeting experience is available on desktop and mobile devices so that you can have reliable, stress free meetings anywhere, anytime. With the highest HD audio and video quality, interactive collaboration tools and artificial intelligence capabilities, AnyMeeting transforms communications with a smarter, faster, engaging and actionable meetings experience.
• BigBlueButton - since 2020. "Engage Your Online Students." BigBlueButton is a web conferencing system designed for online learning. Looking for a professional solution for teaching remote students online? BigBlueButton provides real-time sharing of audio, video, slides, chat, and screen. Students are engaged through sharing of emoji icons, polling, and breakout rooms. Open-source web conferencing system. It is based on GNU/Linux operating system and runs on Ubuntu 16.04. In addition to various web conferencing services, it has integrations for many of the major learning and content management systems. BigBlueButton supports multiple audio and video sharing, presentations with extended whiteboard capabilities - such as a pointer, zooming and drawing - public and private chat, desktop sharing, integrated VoIP using FreeSWITCH, and support for presentation of PDF documents and Microsoft Office documents. Moreover, users may enter the conference in one of two roles: viewer or moderator.
• BlueJeans - since 2009. "Stay Connected." Simple. Smart. Trusted. Empower Your Remote Workforce with Secure Video Conferencing. By Verizon is a company that provides an interoperable cloud-based video conferencing service that connects participants across a wide range of devices and conferencing platforms.
• Discord - since 2015. "A new way to chat with your communities and friends." Discord is the easiest way to communicate over voice, video, and text, whether you’re part of a school club, a nightly gaming group, a worldwide art community, or just a handful of friends that want to hang out. Proprietary freeware VoIP application and digital distribution platform designed for video gaming communities, that specializes in text, image, video and audio communication between users in a chat channel. Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and in web browsers. As of 21 July 2019, there are over 250 million unique users of the software.
• eBuddy - since 2003. "Chat with your friends." eBuddy.lock is the safe and secure messaging app that you need. Unlimited messaging through your Internet connection. Message any way you want with text, pictures, videos, location, emoticons and more. eBuddy is a pioneer in the mobile messaging landscape with its services having 400 million users; 300 million downloads; and 650 billion messages processed. The company's flagship service is XMS, a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging service. One to one conversations with voice and video.
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• FaceTime - since 2010. "Use FaceTime with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch." Learn how to use FaceTime to make video and audio calls from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices and Macintosh computers that run Mac OS X 10.6.6 and later. FaceTime supports any iOS device with a forward-facing camera and any Macintosh computer equipped with a FaceTime Camera. FaceTime Audio, an audio-only version, is available on any iOS device that supports iOS 7 or newer, and any Macintosh with a forward-facing camera running Mac OS X 10.9.2 and later. FaceTime is included for free in iOS and in macOS from Mac OS X Lion (10.7) onwards. In June 2018, Apple announced that FaceTime would support group video and audio calls with up to 32 people in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave.
• FreeConference.com - since 2000. "Free Video Conferencing & Free Conference Calls." With free conference calls, free video conferencing, and free web conferencing, FreeConference.com allows you to keep up with your family, friends, and colleagues without straining your pocketbook.
• Google Duo - since 2016. Video chat mobile app developed by Google, available on the Android and iOS operating systems. Google Duo lets users make video calls in high definition. It is optimized for low-bandwidth networks. End-to-end encryption is enabled by default. Duo is based on phone numbers, allowing users to call someone from their contact list. The app automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. A "Knock Knock" feature lets users see a live preview of the caller before answering. Support for eight-person video calls in both the iOS and Android versions of the app was added in May 2019. In line with similar group calling offerings from FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger, participants can join or leave the conversation at any time.
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• Google Hangouts - since 2013. "Bring your conversations to life with photos, emoji, and even group video calls for free." Instant messaging service that provides both text and voice communication. The instant messaging service is colloquially known as "gtalk" or "gchat" to its users.
• Google Meet - since 2017. Video-communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. Google planned to begin retiring Google Hangouts in October 2019.
• Horizon Workrooms from Facebook - since 2021. "Remote Collaboration Reimagined." The way we work is changing. More people are working remotely, more people want flexible work options, and more people are re-thinking what it means to be in an office. But without the right connective tools, remote work still has plenty of challenges. Working without colleagues around you can feel isolating at times, and brainstorming with other people just doesn’t feel the same if you’re not in the same room.
• Houseparty - since 2019. "Houseparty is a face to face social network." Social networking service that enables group video chatting through mobile and desktop apps. Users receive a notification when friends are online and available to group video chat. Google will shut down the classic G Suite version of Hangouts in June 2020 (being replaced by Meet and Chat), but will continue to support the consumer version of classic Hangouts.
• Jitsi - since 2003. "More secure, more flexible, and completely free video conferencing." Secure video calls, conferencing, chat, desktop sharing, file transfer, support for your favorite OS, and IM network. Free and open-source multiplatform voice (VoIP), videoconferencing and instant messaging applications for the web platform, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Android.
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• Messenger - since 2011. Instant messaging service and software application which provides text and voice communication. Integrated with Facebook's web-based Chat feature and built on the open-source MQTT protocol, Messenger lets Facebook users chat with friends both on mobile and on the main website.
• Microsoft Teams - since 2019. A unified communication and collaboration platform that combines persistent workplace chat, video meetings, file storage (including collaboration on files), and application integration. The service integrates with the Office 365 subscription office productivity suite and features extensions that can integrate with non-Microsoft products. Microsoft Teams is a competitor to services such as Slack and is the evolution and upgrade path from Microsoft Skype for Business. On March 19, 2020, Microsoft announced Microsoft Teams had hit 44 million daily users, in part due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.
• ooVoo - since 2007. "ooVoo is a free instant messaging and video call app supported on Android, iOS, Windows and macOS. ooVoo’s Chains is a community driven platform that allows you to create unique contents and share with a large group of unified creators. The app with it’s cutting-edge technology supports uninterrupted HD video calling with upto 8 people simultaneously from anywhere around the world even with LTE network."
• Riot - since 2016. "Liberate your communication." Communicate the way you want with Riot - a universal secure chat app entirely under your control. Chat, exchange files, make voice or video calls and conferences, add bots.
• Signal - since 2014. "Speak Freely." Say "hello" to a different messaging experience. An unexpected focus on privacy, combined with all of the features you expect. Cross-platform encrypted messaging service. It uses the Internet to send one-to-one and group messages, which can include files, voice notes, images and videos. It can also be used to make one-to-one voice and video calls, and the Android version can optionally function as an SMS app.
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• Skype - since 2003. "Skype makes it easy to stay in touch. Talk. Chat. Collaborate." Freemium voice-over-IP service and instant messaging client that is currently developed by the Microsoft Skype Division.
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• Slack - since 2013. "Slack brings the team together, wherever you are." With all of your communication and tools in one place, remote teams will stay productive no matter where you’re working from. Be less busy. All your communication in one place, integrating with the tools and services you use every day. Available in 8 languages. Slack went public without an IPO on April 26, 2019 and saw its shares soar to $21 billion valuation.
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• Snapchat - since 2011. Photo messaging application. Using the app, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. These sent photographs and videos are known as "Snaps". Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their Snaps (as of November 2013, the range is from 1 to 10 seconds), after which they will be hidden from the recipient's device and deleted from the Snapchat server.
• Tango - since 2009. "Free calls and messages everywhere. Connect, Get Social, Have Fun!" Tango automatically locates friends who also have the free app; just click on a name to place a voice or video call. The app doesn’t need to be open for you to receive calls. Tango is available in 14 languages including Arabic, Chinese, and Turkish.
• Tinychat - since 2009. "Tinychat is an online video chat community." Discover and meet friendly people just like you. Connect and chat with your friends. Online chat website that allows users to communicate via instant messaging, voice chat, and video chat.
• Tox - since 2013. "A New Kind of Instant Messaging." Whether it's corporations or governments, digital surveillance today is widespread. Tox is easy-to-use software that connects you with friends and family without anyone else listening in. While other big-name services require you to pay for features, Tox is completely free and comes without advertising - forever. Catch up face to face, over Tox's secure video calls.
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• Viber - since 2010. "Free and secure calls and messages to anyone, anywhere." Keep your conversations going no matter where you are. Proprietary cross-platform instant messaging voice-over-Internet Protocol application for smartphones developed by Viber Media. In addition to text messaging, users can exchange images, video and audio media messages. As of 2018, there are over a billion registered users on the network.
• Webex - since 1995. "Keep your team connected and your work secure." Video conferencing and communications that keep your business moving forward.
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• WhatsApp - since 2009. "Simple. Secure. Reliable messaging." With WhatsApp, you'll get fast, simple, secure messaging and calling for free*, available on phones all over the world. Proprietary, cross-platform instant messaging subscription service for smartphones. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other images, video, and audio media messages. It became the world's most popular messaging application by 2015, and has over 2 billion users worldwide as of February 2020.
• Whereby - since 2013. "Freedom to work from anywhere." Enjoy the freedom to live and work where you thrive with easy video meetings from Whereby. Easy video meetings with no login or downloads. Video conferencing with screen sharing, recording and much more. Whereby is the easiest way for you and your company to meet over video. There’s no app or software download required. Just choose your own personalized URL and meet using your internet browser - on mobile or desktop - with just one click.
• Wickr - since 2011. "The Most Secure Enterprise Video Conferencing and Collaboration." The most trusted, secure and private messenger in the world. Fully encrypted. Enterprise-ready. Set up in minutes for free. Control and protect your most critical communications. Unlike other video conferencing and collaboration platforms, Wickr Pro is end-to-end encrypted and built to scale for any Enterprise. Featuring unmatched security, total compliance, secure file transfer, SSO and MDM integration, Bots, full administrative controls and a whole lot more. Proprietary instant messenger for iOS and Android and of the company that produces it. Wickr allows users to exchange end-to-end encrypted and self-destructing messages, including photos and file attachments.
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• Wire - since 2014. "The most secure collaboration platform." Modern day collaboration meets the most advanced security and superior user experience. Business chats, one-click conference calls and shared documents - all protected with end-to-end encryption. Simple, beautiful conversations on your phone, tablet and desktop. A team of more than 50 people from 23 countries, supported by Skype co-founder Janus Friis, is launching Wire, a communications network for messaging, voice calling, sharing pictures, music and video on your phone, tablet and desktop. Wire is available on iOS, Android and OS X. It offers communications with an emphasis on high fidelity paired with elegant design. People can use Wire for personal and group messaging, voice calling, sharing pictures, SoundCloud music and YouTube video sharing. Wire conversations are kept in sync across all your devices. In 2018, Wire launched its collaboration solution featuring end-to-end encrypted chat, conferencing, video calls and file-sharing on desktop and mobile for businesses.
• Yubo - since 2015. "Make new friends!" Yubo makes it easy to discover new friends all around the world. We believe that we have a huge opportunity to reinvent online friendships by providing a trustable and safe platform for everyone. A relative newcomer, French app Yubo is basically a social network for making new friends, but with video-calling built in - think MySpace, Tinder and Houseparty, all rolled into one. It’s primarily aimed at teenagers but 18-and-overs are also welcome. The app allows users to create video livestreams with up to 10 friends. The app has more than 25 million users worldwide.
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• Zoom - since 2011. "Zoom unifies cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings, and group messaging into one easy-to-use platform." Use of the platform is free for video conferences of up to 100 participants, with a 40-minute time limit. For longer or larger conferences with more features, paid subscriptions are available, costing $15–20 per month. Features geared towards business conferences, such as Zoom Rooms, are available for $50–100 per month. Zoom is one of the most popular free software applications worldwide. It is used for telecommuting, distance education, and social relations. Analysts claim that it is more reliable and easier to use than competing software. Virtual social gatherings using the software are referred to as "Zoom Parties". People using Zoom for distance education are said to go to "Zoom University" and heavy users of the program are referred to as "Zoomers". Remote conferencing service that combines video conferencing, online meetings, chat, and mobile collaboration. Zoom has seen increased use due to the quarantine measures adopted by many countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is being used for online classes. Daily average users rose from about 10 million in December 2019 to about 200 million in March 2020.