Google's Chrome Web Browser Now Offers Video Calls

Video chat apps are becoming more popular and useful with each day because of COVID-19. By using these apps, people can continue staying in touch with family and friends, continue working with their coworkers from the comfort of their own home, and so on.

Google, one of the big names in tech, has been in the video conferencing game for a time with its Hangouts Meet (now only called Meet) and Duo. But, just like most other video chat platforms, these apps require users to launch an app. Now, the Mountain View giant is adding the feature to one of its most-used apps: Chrome.

Google said in a blog entry that it will add Duo to the Chrome web browser “in the coming weeks.” This feature, called Duo for web, will allow internet surfers to make group calls right there on the browser itself. Those who wish to try the new feature can do so here.

Duo for web will come first as a preview on Chrome. It will offer a new layout that's slightly different from the one on the smartphone app, and will allow users to see more group call participants at the same time. Users making calls will be able to invite just about anybody with a Google account to join the chat using a link to the group call.

TechRadar noted that the feature will allow for up to 12-person video chats on the popular web browser. Before announcing the preview for Chrome, however, Duo only allowed conversations between two people on the web. The mobile version, on the other hand, supported group calls for more people.

What's Duo best used for?

Google Duo is best used for casual conversations, much like Skype and Facebook's Messenger Rooms. Google Duo offers a slew of masks and filters that can add some color (both literally and figuratively) to any one-on-one conversation with family and friends.

Speaking of family, Google is adding a new family mode to Duo. This mode allows users to add effects to the video and send doodles to people in the chat. Family mode also does away with the mute ang hang-up buttons, which means users won't have to worry about these interrupting the fun of having to talk with family members.