Facebook rolls out free video calling to Messenger

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Looks like Skype has some serious competition right now. Today, Facebook launched its newest feature to its popular Messenger platform: free video calls to any Android/iOS user on a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

According to a recent report from TechCrunch, “video calling in Messenger will become available today for iOS and Android users in Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Uruguay. More regions will be added in the coming months.”

The new feature works like any other video calling service. Once a Messenger chat window is open, a video icon will appear on the upper right hand corner of the screen. Clicking it will initiate a video call once it is accepted by the other party. Users have the ability of switching from selfie mode to the regular camera on you phone. The best part about all this is that it’s free. However, if you’re not using your Wi-Fi connection, data charges from your mobile carrier could apply.

This new feature is still being rolled out. At the time of writing this, I was unable to test it out seeing that it wasn’t available for me yet. For more information, click here.

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.