Signal, the encrypted messaging app, has added video call features that could position the company as a rival to communication platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Signal has also added a “Calls” tab that lets users initiate new calls, review call history and create call links, which can conveniently be shared with colleagues via normal messaging instead of having to create specific call groups. The reusable links also make it easy to share invites for recurring calls. Signal Calls is available for iOS, Android and desktop. The desktop app lets users choose between grid, sidebar and speaker views.

“You also get commonly seen management features like the ability to name calls, manually allow people [to] join meetings, or kick, remove, and block them” as well as the ability for participants to “queue up to ask questions through a Meet-esque hand-raising feature,” reports TechCrunch.

“If you love group calls on Signal, but don’t want to create a group chat for every combination of your friends or colleagues, you’re in luck. Today we’re launching call links: Share a link with anyone on Signal and in just a tap or click they can join the call. No group chat required,” according to a Signal blog post.

Signal group calls can simultaneously support up to 50 participants who can now send emoji reactions for personalized feedback.

“Users will also benefit from updated call control buttons, a seemingly basic but essential tool, meaning it’s easier to turn your camera and microphone on or off, manage your speaker source, and see who else is in a call,” TechRadar writes.

“Signal as an organization runs all of our meetings using Signal calls, treating them as a substitute for the surveillance-heavy video meeting services that grew in popularity after COVID hit,” the Mountain View, California-based company explains. “However you want to communicate — a text, a call, a voice message, a GIF, a video call, a story — you should be able to do it privately.”

Emphasizing video as “a new normal meeting place for organizations, workplaces, and groups of friends all over the world,” Signal says it will continue to develop new call features.

Related:
Signal Offers an Encrypted Alternative to Zoom: See How It Works, ZDNet, 11/13/24
Signal Makes It Easier to Join Group Calls, Adds Support for Up to 50 People, PCMag, 11/12/24