Slack gets video chat function

Slack will get video calling in an update. Paid team users can have a group video call with up to 15 people at a time. Free Slack pack users can only make single, targeted video calls.

The update for Slack will be released in the coming days and will work on the desktop apps for Windows and macOS, as well as the Chrome browser. Slack mobile app users can participate in video calls, but the actual video element won’t work. They can only send and receive audio.

Slack also immediately added emoji support to video calls. If you click on such an icon during a video call, you will see the emote temporarily hover over his camera image, which is accompanied by a subtle sound to make it clear to others that an emote is being used.

Slack can also be set up to route audio calls to another external app, such as Google Hangouts. It is not clear whether this is now also possible with video calls. In the comments to Slack’s blog post, developers indicate that they are also working on screen sharing.

Slack is a messaging platform built to accommodate larger teams. The app offers team members the ability to set up channels, engage in private chats, set up profiles and easily share media with each other. Slack also supports apps. According to rumors, Microsoft wanted to buy Slack for eight billion dollars, but it would have declined. Today, Microsoft is working on its own Slack competitor, called Teams.