Traditionally, telephone communications take place between two people; the ability to make group calls on landlines is a function that has been with us for just over two decades. But what about mobile telephony? Calls can also be made between more than two people. In fact, there are two types of conferences: phone calls and video calls. Both of them can be very useful for practical purposes of organizing a meeting, putting a group of people together regarding a trip or any other social activity. If you need to know how to do both, we will explain what you need.
How to make a group phone call
First, find the number of a person you want to call. Exchange the necessary greetings, then take the phone off your ear and click the add call button:
Click on the button to add participants
When you do, the phone keypad will open, but you can also search for the next person in your contacts or recent calls. Find the following member and call him:
Call the next contact later
Now you will have the two calls on the screen. When you have them there, press the icon To combine to have a group phone call:
Press the Merge button to have a group call
How to make a group video call with apps
Sometimes you may be interested in making a conference but through a video call. To do this, all members of the group must use the same app. Keep in mind that for this video call to enjoy acceptable quality, all your attendees must have a good Internet connection. In addition, it is not advisable to make the video call with too many people, since managing a group of, for example, 20 members, is not easy at all.
Not all applications offer the possibility of making group video calls, some only allow group calls or individual video calls. Here are some apps that do allow group videoconferencing.
Make a video call with Facebook
Facebook allows video calls through its Messenger app. The fact of being a social network aimed at sharing things with friends and family makes Messenger a great utility: you may not have a friend’s phone number but contact him thanks to Messenger.
Spanish
Android
free
To make a video call in Messenger, first start the application by tapping on its icon from the apps menu of your Android.
Tap on Messenger to start the app
At this moment the application opens and the chats with all your Facebook friends will appear. Find someone you want to video call with and tap on their behalf.
Tap on one of the people you want to video call with
On the next screen you will see the chat with the person you have chosen. In the upper right corner you will see an icon of a video camera. Tap it to start video call.
Tap on the camcorder icon to start video call
Once the other person accepts the call, we will be in a video call. However, to add more people to this call, you must follow a few more steps. In the next one you must slide your finger up from the lower menu, so you will see more call options.
Swipe up from the bottom menu of the call
Now a button appears that says Add people, tap on it.
Now tap on add people
Finally, a list of your Facebook friends will appear. Tap on Add in each of the ones you want to include in the video call.
Tap on add in those people you want to include in the call
Once everyone accepts the video call, everything will be done.
Make a video call with WhatsApp
WhatsApp also has the ability to make group calls. The advantage of WhatsApp is that only people who have your phone number can call you, so you will rarely receive calls from less known or close people.
Spanish
Android
free
To make a video call on WhatsApp, first open the app.
Tap on WhatsApp to open the app
The next step is to find and touch the chat of one of the people with whom you are going to start a video conference.
Tap on the chat of a person with whom you want to start a video call
Now tap on the camcorder icon that will appear in the upper right area of your screen.
Click on the video camera icon
This will start the video call. Once the other person accepts the call, all you have to do is add more members to the conference. To do this, touch the icon with the shape of a head and a plus sign (+), located in the upper right area of the screen.
Tap on this icon to add more participants to the call
A list with your WhatsApp friends will appear. Choose who you want to join the video call by tapping on them.
Choose another participant on the call
Finally, a confirmation message will appear. Tap add for these people to join the video call.
Touch add to confirm your addition to the video call
Make a video call with Skype
One of the most used apps for video conferencing is Skype. This application allows you to create groups of many people and is more designed for direct contact with less known people, such as other Internet users related to our tastes, for example.
Spanish
Android
free
To make a video conference on Skype, start the app by tapping on its icon.
Open Skype by tapping on its icon
Whether you are in the chats section or in the contacts section, look for one of the people you want to add to the video call and tap on their name.
Find and tap on one of the people who are going to participate in the video call
The chat screen with that person will open. Now tap on the camcorder-shaped icon, which is located in the upper right area of the screen.
Tap on the camcorder icon
Once the call is accepted, you will only have to add more people. To do this, touch the ellipsis that appear in the lower right area of the screen.
Tap on the icon with three ellipsis to see more options
You will see more options among which is the Add people. Tap on it.
Tap on Add people
A list will appear with all your Skype friends. Search for the person or people you want to add and tap on them. With all selected, tap Add.
Tap on the people you want to add and then on Add
Once this is done, it will only be necessary to wait for everyone to take the video call to enjoy this great utility.
Other apps to make video calls on Android
In addition to those mentioned, there are many other apps that allow you to make group video calls. In Malavida you can find more than twenty to download. Each of these apps has its own characteristics and utilities. Google Hangouts, with which it is enough to have a Google account, Cisco Webex designed for teaching, Discord, more designed for gaming, Zoom, Google Duo … There are many alternatives.
